Weldon Irvine

Think of it as smoothness for a tense world. Glorious, even shameless, musicianship from before computers replaced real players in the studio. Another amazing collection of songs by the most talented back-room gals and guys. DJ Supermarkt’s mission remains the same: to excavate some of the finest lost songs from the recording business’s imperial phase. From groovesome to mellow, sinful to spiritually yearning, all of these tunes deserve a second chance at the limelight.

A killer from Groove Holmes - one of his rarest albums ever, a one-off session recorded for Blue Note, with a group that includes a young Weldon Irvine! Weldon was a hip up-and-comer at the time - and he not only plays electric piano on the set, but contributes some of the album's best tracks. The mix of electric piano and organ makes for a very unusual sound - one that gets a nice kick from the conga/drum rhythm section, mixed in with electric bass and guitar.

A killer from Groove Holmes - one of his rarest albums ever, a one-off session recorded for Blue Note, with a group that includes a young Weldon Irvine! Weldon was a hip up-and-comer at the time - and he not only plays electric piano on the set, but contributes some of the album's best tracks. The mix of electric piano and organ makes for a very unusual sound - one that gets a nice kick from the conga/drum rhythm section, mixed in with electric bass and guitar.

In the midst of the Civil Rights Movement where spirits may not have been high, Nina Simone walked onto the stage and used her raspy voice to send a message. That message is there's always tomorrow and the future is bright. It's a live album that features Simone singing some of her biggest songs as well as other songs that she was fond of at the time. It also features a lot of dialogue from Simone on issues facing black Americans at the time.

When trumpeter Tom Browne hit the Billboard charts in 1980, one would have thought that he was an overnight sensation. However, the licensed pilot had several years under his belt working with Weldon Irvine, Sonny Fortune, and others. His debut smash single, "Funkin' for Jamaica (N.Y.)," took the music industry by storm. Between Browne's piercing horn intro and his chilling riffs in the vamp, the New York native and his cohorts lay down one jammin' groove. From the thunderous bass of Marcus Miller and Browne's trumpeting trips to the salacious vocals of Toni Smith and the colorful conversation referencing Browne, this single was slick and exhilarating.