Funk on Life

Donald Byrd - Thank You … For F.U.M.L. (Funking Up My Life) (1978) {Elektra Masters 75596 2720-2 rel 2002)
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 262 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 93 Mb
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© 1978, 2002 Elektra/Asylum Records / Warner Jazz | 75596 2720-2
Jazz / Jazz Funk / Crossover Jazz / Soul Jazz / Trumpet

A post-Blue Note effort, and Donald's changing things up a bit with his 125th Street Orchestra and Uptown Singers – funking along in a way you'd expect from the longwinded title! Byrd loostens up the smoother backgrounds of his recent Larry Mizell helmed work, and in their place are grooves that have more of a heavy slap bass sound, punchier horns and guitars!

Ben Sidran first came to public attention as a sideman on one of the early Steve Miller Band albums in the late Sixties. His keyboard stylings and flare suggested a background in jazz/rock fusion. His debut album, "Feel Your Groove" (also available on a Japanese Import CD) included a wealth of celebrated English and American talent including drummer Charlie Watts, but still did not deliver fully what Ben Sidran seemed to promise. This, his second album, was recorded after he resettled in Madison, Wisconsin (a.k.a. "Mad-City," then the Berkeley of the Midwest)and it showcased Ben Sidran's writing and performing in great form. It is quintessential Sidran, with stylings reminiscent but not imitative of his idol Mose Allison, and tunes that have held up extraordinarily well over the past three decades. This was Ben Sidran's true break-through LP, although best known to a relatively small group of FM alternative radio fanatics.

Having made several changes in their business and musical efforts in 1972, Grand Funk Railroad made even more extensive ones in 1973, beginning with their name, which was officially truncated to "Grand Funk." And keyboardist Craig Frost, credited as a sideman on Phoenix, the previous album, was now a full-fledged bandmember, filling out the musical arrangements. The most notable change, however, came with the hiring of Todd Rundgren to produce the band's eighth album. Rundgren, a pop/rock artist in his own right, was also known for his producing abilities, and he gave Grand Funk exactly what they were looking for: We're an American Band sounded nothing like its muddy, plodding predecessors. Sonically, the record was sharp and detailed and the band's playing was far tighter and more accomplished…

Tied to a significant new exhibition at Tate Britain, a killer collection surveying Black Soundsystem culture’s indelible influence on UK over successive generations from the ’70s to the ’00s.

This brand new compilation in the ever-popular series is again a very special collection of eighties disco funk classics, packed in a luxury Super Jewel Box. As usual in the series this is a collection of rare tracks and 12-inch versions of hard to get but still highly in demand recordings, some of which have never been compiled on CD before. Included are fine tracks by the likes of: Dave Valentin, Peaches and Herb, Systematic (highly in demand among 80s fans), Bloodstone, Switch and many more gems of the eighties.

Freeworld was originally formed in Memphis in 1987 by sax player Dr. Herman Green and a young bass player Richard Cushing and quickly became a Beale Street staple playing rock, soul, blues, jazz, reggae and gospel. The band has had a rotation of players over the years constituting dozens of current and former members. Green passed away in 2020, but Cushing has maintained the band. Today, he still plays bass, provides the backing vocals, and is the writer or co-writer of most of the original songs on the album. Sax player Peter Climie also shares most of the writing or co-writing on the album. More Love is the band’s eighth album.