Category: DIGGIN’ IN
Legally blind from birth, Brazilian keyboard player and composer Manfredo Fest contributed to a number of great recordings during the sixties and seventies, both as a solo artist and with the group Bossa Rio. London’s Far Out Recordings has just reissued, what arguably might be his greatest recording, in his 1976 jazz funk masterpiece Brazilian Dorian Dream.
The London-based reissue label Discs of Fun and Love is quickly making a strong name for themselves with some incredible and worthy seven-inch soul reissues. Their third and latest release features the obscure 1981 funky soulful gem “Summer Love,” written and produced by illustrious jazz musician Prince Billy Mahdi Wright, and sang by Maggie “Mandisa” Epting.
Numero Group has unearthed and recently released what looks to be the final demo material ever recorded from the now legendary seventies-era soul group 24-Carat Black, simply titled III.
Since being established in 2017, New Zealand’s Rain&Shine have been reissuing many incredible rare modern soul, disco, jazz, and gospel recordings. This month, the label continues it’s string of great releases by making available again, The Positive Force & Ade Olatunji’s 1977 almost-impossible-to-find spiritual jazz masterpiece Oracy.
The late Steve Reid is one of the greatest, and possibly most over-looked drummers of our time. First making a name for himself at the early age of 19, playing on Martha and The Vandellas’ 1964 Motown classic “Dancing In The Street,” Reid went on to play with a wide array of legendary artists from soul to jazz and Afrobeat, including Fats Domino, James Brown, Chaka Khan, Dexter Gordon, Sun Ra, Miles Davis, Randy Weston, Fela Kuti, and many others.
The London-based BBE Muisc label continues it’s remarkable J Jazz series, dedicated to some of the finest and most obscure Japanese jazz recordings from the late sixties to early eighties, curated by Tony Higgins and Mike Peden, with a reissue of Hideto Sasaki and Toshiyuki Sekine Quartet +1’s 1976 hard-bop masterpiece Stop Over.
During the same week that we remember and celebrate the late great soul legend Marvin Gaye, who was born on April 2, 1939 and tragically passed on April 1st, 1984, Tamla records will be releasing, for the first time on vinyl, a collection of outtakes from his incredible 1972 soundtrack to Ivan Dixon’s film Trouble Man.
On March 6th, we sadly lost innovative composer, bandleader and pianist McCoy Tyner. For over 60 years, he has been one of the greatest jazz artists of our time, beginning in the sixties with his longtime stint in John Coltrane’s legendary quartet with Jimmy Garrison, and Elvin Jones, as well as his time leading his own groups featuring jazz greats like Bobby Hutcherson, Gary Bartz, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter and many others.
The Paris-based Trad Vibe Records, who reissued Cortex’s 1975 rare masterpiece Troupeau Bleu back in 2010, has released a brand new single featuring the group’s 1979 jazz-funk medley “Mary & Jeff + Devils Dance,” along with the brilliant Fender Rhodes led version of the track.
Due to popular demand, the Portuguese-based Mad About Records has reissued, for a second time, Reggie Andrews and The Fellowship’s highly obscure 1969 spiritual jazz masterpiece Mystic Beauty. The first pressing of this reissue sold out very quickly last year, following it’s late July release.
Portugese-based label Mad About Records continues their string of truly essential reissues with the release of Syncro Jazz’s extremely rare 1982 live album featuring legendary Brazilian saxophonist Nestico Aguiar, and his sister, pianist Lilu.
Gilles Peterson launches his brand new reissue label Arc Records, focusing on rare and interesting records from his basement vaults, with the experimental jazz recording Musica Infinita from by Mexican drummer and composer Tino Contreras.
Over the past decade, there many incredible jazz releases from a number of new rising exploratory artists looking to explore new ground and continue to push the music forward. With jazz having an overall strong resurgence in places like London, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Melbourne and numerous of other cities and regions globally, it’s great to look back at some of the most essential albums from the past ten years.
