Maceo Parker - Roots And Grooves (2007)

"Say the name Maceo Parker, and immediately the legendary R&B saxman's longterm association with the late, great James Brown comes to mind. Depending on how steeped one is in R&B, Parker's later work with George Clinton and Bootsy Collins might pop up. But long before the Godfather of Soul entered the saxman's life, Parker was grooving heavily on Ray Charles, who became one of the influential musical heroes of his life. The first disc of Roots and Grooves gloriously celebrates Parker's connection to these roots, his early years in North Carolina listening to early Charles tracks on the radio. The second is something of a wildly jazzy, impossibly funky jam retrospective on his best solo tracks. The hook that makes this more than simply a high energy covers date is that it teams the brilliant altoist with Germany's renowned WDR Big Band -- and from the first swinging blasts behind Parker's horn on "Hallelujah I Love Her So," "big" is the operative word. Given Parker's sense of groove invention and the evergreen emotional power of Charles' chestnuts like "Busted" and "Hit the Road Jack," anyone might have expected this to be a dream match. But it's more than that because Parker also sings with a gravelly, Charles-like perfection on these two songs, and even more poignantly on "You Don't Know Me," "Margie," and a magically moody "Georgia on My Mind." Charles may have been declared deceased in body in 2004, but he lives again through Parker in haunting yet wonderful ways. On "Getting Back to Funk" (the title of the second disc), Parker revisits his own rich catalog of classics, starting with "Uptown Up" and vibing right on through to a nearly 18-minute scorching take on "Pass the Peas." Released in early 2008, this double set was an instant classic. Charles was not the only genius who loved company --Parker, too, has a blast working with one of the hippest big bands in the world."

allmusic.com

Tracklisting

1. Maceo parker - hallelujah i love her so (6:38)
2. Maceo parker - busted (3:53)
3. Maceo parker - them that's got (6:12)
4. Maceo parker - you don't know me (6:24)
5. Maceo parker - hit the road jack (5:09)
6. Maceo parker - margie (6:01)
7. Maceo parker - georgia on my mind (6:17)
8. Maceo parker - what'd i say (9:36)
9. Maceo parker - uptown up (5:57)
10. Maceo parker - to be or not to be (6:22)
11. Maceo parker - off the hook (8:02)
12. Maceo parker - advanced funk (7:10)
13. Maceo parker - shake everything you got (7:07)
14. Maceo parker - pass the peas (17:48)


Maceo Parker - pass the peas

James Brown - Soul On Top (1969)

                                "If Count Basie had hired James Brown to replace Joe Williams as his featured male vocalist, what would the results have sounded like? Brown offers some suggestions on Soul on Top, which finds the Godfather of Soul making an intriguing detour into jazz-minded big-band territory. Recorded in 1969 and reissued on CD in 2004, Soul on Top unites Brown with the Basie-influenced orchestra of jazz drummer Louie Bellson -- and stylistically, the results are somewhere between soul-funk and the funkier side of big-band jazz. This Brown/Bellson collaboration isn't straight-ahead jazz; nor is it typical of Brown's late-'60s output. But if recording a big-band project with Bellson was a surprising and unexpected thing for the Godfather of Soul to do in 1969, it was hardly illogical or bizarre -- Brown, after all, grew up listening to jazz (as well as blues and gospel) and was well aware of the legacies of Basie, Lionel Hampton, Duke Ellington, and others. Besides, jazz and R&B are closely related. While some jazz snobs would have listeners believe that jazz and R&B have little if anything in common, the fact is that they're close relatives that get much of their energy and feeling from the blues. So it makes perfect sense for Brown to combine soul, funk, and jazz on this album, which finds him revisiting some major hits (including "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" and "It's a Man's Man's Man's World") in addition to embracing "September Song," "That's My Desire," and other standards that one typically associates with jazz and traditional pop. Although not among the Godfather's better-known efforts, this fine album is happily recommended to anyone who holds R&B and jazz in equally high regard."

allmusic.com

Tracklisting

1. James Brown - Your Cheatin' Heart (3:00)
2. James Brown - What Kind of Fool Am I? (3:06)
3. James Brown - It's a Man's, Man's, Man's World (6:40)
4. James Brown - The Man in the Glass (5:56)
5. James Brown - It's Magic (3:14)
6. James Brown - September Song (5:03)
7. James Brown - For Once in My Life (4:44)
8. James Brown - Every Day I Have the Blues (4:28)
9. James Brown - I Need Your Key (to Turn Me On (3:46)
10. James Brown - Papa's Got a Brand New Bag (4:41)
11. James Brown - There Was a Time (3:05)
12. James Brown - That's My Desire (4:10)

James Brown - Papa's Got a Brand New Bag

Various Artists - Searching For Soul

Tracklisting

1. Tommy McGhee - Give and Take (3:06)
2. Manual B. Holcolm - I Stayed Away Too Long (2:30)
3. The Detroit Sex Machines - Rap It Together (2:31)
4. Robert Jay - Alcohol (part 1) (2:45)
5. Wendell Harrison - Farewelle to the Welfare (part 1) (5:22)
6. The Black Aces Of Soul And The Eyes Of Ebony - Lets Get On Down (3:27)
7. Jake Wade & The Soul Searchers - Searching For Soul (part 1) (2:39)
8. Lloyd W. Williams - Be Mine Tonight (3:07)
9. Robert Lowe - Back To Funk (3:48)
10. Dee Edwards - (I Can) Deal With That (3:39)
11. El Riot - Do It Right (4:59)
12. Burning Desire - Why She Had To Go (4:21)
13. Aged In Harmony - Trust Me (3:25)
14. Wendell Harrison - Take Time Out (3:53)

The Detroit Sex Machines - Rap It Together

J.B's - Food for Thought (1972)

"The J.B.'s were the legendary supporting cast of musicians behind James Brown, earning a well-deserved reputation as the tightest, best-drilled instrumental ensemble in all of funk. The name J.B.'s is most often associated with three hornmen in particular -- saxophonists Maceo Parker and Alfred "Pee Wee" Ellis, and trombonist Fred Wesley, all of whom originally joined Brown's backing band at various points during the '60s. As a recording entity unto themselves, however, the J.B.'s enjoyed a distinctly defined heyday from 1970-1975, under the musical directorship of Wesley (though Brown, naturally, remained a strong presence). The J.B.'s were billed under a variety of alternate names on their own singles and albums -- Fred Wesley and the J.B.'s, Maceo and the Macks, Fred and the New J.B.'s, the James Brown Soul Train, the Last Word, the First Family, and more. The core group of personnel, despite some turnover on the periphery, remained fairly steady from 1971 on, at least until Brown's creative downturn precipitated several important defections. "

allmusic.com

Tracklisting

1. J.B's - pass the peas (3:25)
2. J.B's- gimme some more (3:08)
3. J.B's - to my brother (2:34)
4. J.B's - wine spot (3:34)
5. J.B's - hot pants road (2:45)
6. J.B's - the grunt (2:47)
7. J.B's - blessed blackness (3:48)
8. J.B's - escape-ism,part 1 (3:22)
9. J.B's - escape-ism,part 2 (4:13)
10. J.B's - theme from king heroin (3:05)
11. J.B's - These Are The JB's (3:04)

J.B's -  The Grunt

Magnum - Fully Loaded (1974)

"They weren't as good as Funkadelic or Sly Stone, but they were pretty good, mixing up a sort of late-psychedelic soul-rock in their elongated, oft-humorous compositions. Crucially, they also varied their approach over the course of the LP, with long groove jams that borrowed from Latin jazz fusion, goofy sex wordplay, celebratory party funk, and some doses of cosmic consciousness."

allmusic.com

Tracklisting

1. Magnum - It's the Music That Makes Us Do It (3:59)
2. Magnum - Witch Doctor's Brew (7:25)
3. Magnum - Funky Junky (5:14)
4. Magnum - Composition Seven (9:57)
5. Magnum - Evolution (5:48)
6. Magnum - Your Mind (3:57)
7. Magnum - Natural Juices (6:37)

Magnum - Witch Doctor's Brew

Ramon Morris - Sweet Sister Funk (1973)

The one and only album of Ramon Morris, but the greatest one!

"Ramon Morris' lone Groove Merchant date remains one of the most potent fusion records of its time. An uncommonly soulful and nimble tenorman, Morris proves ideally matched to the jazz-funk idiom, and Sweet Sister Funk achieves a near-perfect balance between its mainstream and experimental leanings, forging a series of fierce grooves as imaginative as they are accessible. Recorded with a crack supporting unit including trumpeter Cecil Bridgewater and percussionist Tony Waters, the album radiates with positive energy -- it's a genuine shame Morris never again recorded as a leader, because the mind reels at the possibilities his muse might have pursued".  Jason Ankeny

Tracklisting

1. Ramon Morris - Don't Ask Me (5:21)
2. Ramon Morris - Lord Sideways (6:15)
3. Ramon Morris - People Make The World Go Around (3:16)
4. Ramon Morris - First Come,First Serve (4:48)
5. Ramon Morris - Wijinia (5:32)
6. Ramon Morris - Sweet Sister Funk (6:19)
7. Ramon Morris - Sweat (6:27)

Pure Jazz-Funk, great stuff!!!

Ramon Morris - Sweet Sister Funk