Freddie Hubbard Red Clay

Various Artists - CTI Records: The Cool Revolution [4CD BoxSet] (2010) {Masterworks}
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© 2010 Masterworks / Sony Music / CTI | 88697 76821 2
Jazz / Fusion / Soul Jazz / Brazilian Jazz

Remastered for the first time using the original two-track analog tapes, this brand new 4-CD set celebrates the vintage years of CTI, when a distinctive style and sound were born. Over 5 hours of music showcase all the major artists on the CTI roster, both in solo performances and in the unforgettable collaborations that made each CTI album so distinctive. Includes a lavishly illustrated 20-page, LP-sized booklet containing rare photos, plus new liner notes by noted jazz critic Dan Ouellette with comments by CTI artists and enthusiasts.

Given that Blue Note Records has issued a definitive 1960s box set of Hancock's earliest – and some consider his most seminal – work, and the literally dozens of best-ofs that have been issued, more by Columbia than by anybody else, this set with its spare futuristic design might at first glance seem like overkill, as in, "do we really need another Herbie Hancock collection, especially a damned box set?" In this case, it's very important to take a second and even third look. For starters, this set is housed in a see-though plastic box, all four CDs clearly visible on spare individual trays. On a fifth tray rests the CD booklet. On the bottom of the box is a sticker identifying the contents within. In the booklet are complete liners by Herbie himself (actually, excepts from an interview by Chuck Mitchell), and gorgeous reproductions of the album covers. It's a cool coffee table conversation piece for hep cats and kitties who are into jazz – or those who just like happening accoutrements in their living spaces.

Charles Earland - Leaving This Planet (1973) {2014 Japan Rare Groove Funk Best Collection 1000}
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© 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.

A fiery guitarist and talented songwriter who plays a unique blend of Memphis R&B, southwest blues, and urban funk. Collection includes: Hell Or High Water (2002); The Hard Way (2004); Moment Of Truth (2007); Speak No Evil (2009); Red Clay Soul (2016); Winning Hand (2018).

Accomplished neo-soul queen Angie Stone's second solo outing, Mahogany Soul, delivers more of the organic, gritty, rootsy yet sophisticated soul which put her on the map as a solo artist. The production is great and the songs are funky, mature, and intelligent, but when she truly shines is when she actually spreads her wings and glides away from her neo-soul trappings, which she manages effortlessly.

Accomplished neo-soul queen Angie Stone's second solo outing, Mahogany Soul, delivers more of the organic, gritty, rootsy yet sophisticated soul which put her on the map as a solo artist. The production is great and the songs are funky, mature, and intelligent, but when she truly shines is when she actually spreads her wings and glides away from her neo-soul trappings, which she manages effortlessly.

This double CD is a classic. For a concert held at the Hollywood Palladium in 1971, Creed Taylor gathered together most of his top stars and demonstrated why CTI was one of the most significant labels of the era. On lenghthy renditions of "Fire and Rain," "Red Clay," "Sugar," "Blues West" and "Leaving West," the all-star lineup (trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, tenor-saxophonist Stanley Turrentine, altoist Hank Crawford, flutist Hubert Laws, guitarist George Benson, keyboardist Johnny Hammond, bassist Ron Carter, drummer Billy Cobham and percussionist Airto) is in inspired form, particularly Hubbard and Turrentine. This wonderful music belongs in every serious jazz collection. ~ AllMusic

Since its May 1st release, Just Play can be heard on a growing number of both terrestrial and internet radio stations across the globe. On November 29th of 2007, Just Play won the Los Angeles Independent Music Award in the Instrumental Jazz Category. Shades of Blue was a Top 5 Winner in the Great American Song Contest.