Syreeta Wright

Gary Bartz - Anthology (2004) {Soul Brother Records CD SBPJ 23}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 537 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 183 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 35 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1970s, 2004 Soul Brother Records / Passion Music | CD SBPJ 23
Jazz / Jazz Funk / Modern Creative / Soul Jazz

Soul Brother has given us a long overdue compilation of Gary Bartz's experimental jazz material from the 1970s, beginning with his classic Harlem Bush Music albums, Taifa and Uhuru from 1970 and 1971, with his band NTU Troop. While it's impossible to overstate the influence his brief tenure with Miles Davis had on him (Bartz is featured on the Live-Evil recordings), the saxophonist and composer was exploring other avenues of creative black music as well, from funk to soul to the blues. The 12 cuts here begin with the sublime "Celestial Blues," from that seminal NTU Troop debut set.

After kicking around on various labels for half a dozen years and developing a reputation as a stellar sideman, Billy Preston finally broke through to mass success as a recording artist with the instrumental "Outa-Space" on A&M Records in 1972, and he had a string of other hits over the next several years, including the chart-toppers "Will It Go Round in Circles" and "Nothing From Nothing." This discount-priced best-of features all of his Top 20 pop and R&B hits, including the 1979 duet with Syreeta, "With You I'm Born Again," a Top Five hit on the Motown subsidiary Tamla that now resides in the Universal vaults along with the A&M catalog.

The combination of King and the well-oiled Philly rhythm section that powered hits by the O'Jays, Spinners, and Stylistics proved a surprisingly adroit one. Two huge hits came from this album, the Stevie Wonder/Syreeta Wright-penend title track and "I Like to Live the Love," both of them intriguing updates of King's tried-and-true style.

Contains fewer crossover hits than previous volumes, but R&B scorchers like "Funky Music Sho' Nuff Turns Me On," by Yvonne Fair, and Bonnie Pointer's "Free My From My Freedom," will liven any party. High Energy's energetic "He's a Pretender" sounds like a smash, but failed to sell, the Mary Jane Girls' erotic "Candy Man" did much better. The only Pop hits are Thelma Houston's "Don't Leave Me This Way," and "The Boss," by Diana Ross, but crankers by Tata Vega, Syreeta Wright, and the Supremes rate high on the groove meter. However, Milira's jazzy "Mercy Mercy Me" doesn't belong on a collection called Funkology: Dance Divas.