Acid Jazz

This Is Acid Jazz Vol. 7: Steppin' Out (INS514, 50:17) is a low-key affair, showcasing the usual suspects (Shakatak, The JB Horns, Gota) and talents deserving wider recognition (The Sharpshooters, Woody Cunningham). Perfect beat moments: CFM Band's churning Bobby Byrd ("Get on up/Get into it!")/Headhunters/Tom Browne-pastiche "Make It Funky CFM," Cunningham's straight-outta-'70s funk-on-a-slow-roll "Tonite."

Anyone who likes the B-3 Hammond organ soul-jazz style and doesn't mind a bit of pop-lounge spice occasionally stirred into the sauce should check out this compilation. It combines Pitts' first two LPs, Introducing the Fabulous Trudy Pitts and These Blues of Mine (both from 1967) on one CD. Introducing is a strong debut, divided between covers of pretty mainstream standards ("The Spanish Flea," "It Was a Very Good Year," "Matchmaker, Matchmaker") and gutsier straight soul-jazz, including four originals by Bill Carney, whose "Organology" is a highlight for its nervous, bopping edge. The languorous swells of the opening number "Steppin' in Minor" make you think you're in for a set of swank lounge-jazz, but the pace quickly picks up, and Pitts really catches fire on "Take Five," jamming a lot of notes into her improvisation without sounding self-indulgent…

The Jazz Club series is an attractive addition to the Verve catalogue. With it's modern design and popular choice of repertoire, the Jazz Club is not only opened for Jazz fans, but for everyone that loves good music.

Willis "Gator" Jackson's initial reputation was made as a honking and screaming tenor saxophonist with Cootie Williams' late-'40s orchestra and on his own R&B-ish recordings. By 1959, Jackson had de-emphasized some of his more extroverted sounds (although they occasionally popped up) and had reemerged as a solid swinger influenced by Gene Ammons and (on ballads) Ben Webster. This CD reissue from 1998 brings back in full two of Jackson's 1959-60 LPs: Blue Gator and Cookin' Sherry. Some of the music (which often falls into the soul-jazz genre) is reminiscent of the funky groove music that would become popular in the late '60s. Jackson sounds fine and is joined throughout by guitarist Bill Jennings, organist Jack McDuff, one of three bassists, one of two drummers, and sometimes Buck Clarke on conga. The accessible music alternates between warm ballads and jump tunes.

Matt Berry - Night Terrors: Nocturnal Excursions in Music (2017) {Acid Jazz–[PIAS] AJXCD415}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 172 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 74 Mb
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© 2017 Acid Jazz / [PIAS] | AJXCD415
Rock / Progressive Jazz / Neo-Psychedelia / Indie Pop / Indie Folk

Matt Berry's excellent 2016 album, The Small Hours, was another step toward establishing the comedic actor as a serious musical force with roots in indie pop, folk, prog, and psychedelia. The Night Terrors EP is a brief companion release comprising remixes and retakes from the album, plus a handful of new songs. Saint Etienne and Clark do very different things to the prog-jazz title track with their mixes, the former delving into some laid-back, funky grooves that aren't as much terrifying as they are tasty, while the latter takes the terror part seriously and turns the song into something that sounds like whirling knife blades, possessed wind-up dolls, and scream-inducing jump cuts.

A smart combination of two 1961 albums, Hip Soul and Hip Twist, both of which featured Stanley Turrentine on sax. Hip Soul is the smokier and livelier of the pair, especially on "Stanley's Time" and the Turrentine-composed title track; the material is delivered with a taut intelligence. Hip Twist doesn't suffer much in comparison, though, and gives Scott a bit more presence, as she introduces several themes with impassioned swirls; unlike Hip Soul, it has a couple of tunes from her own pen.