McNeal And Niles’ 1979 soulful jazz-funk “holy grail” album ‘Thrust’ receives reissue

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McNeal And Niles’ 1979 soulful jazz-funk “holy grail” album ‘Thrust’ receives reissue

Toronto-based record label We Are Busy Bodies has reissued the extremely rare 1979 soulful jazz-funk album Thrust by guitarist Wilbur Niles and his then-girlfriend, Machelle McNeal.

Recorded at the makeshift Man-Ray Studios located in the back of a car wash in Akron, Ohio, this incredible 7-track album was put on the map for the cosmic jazz opener “Ja Ja.” Niles, a history major, named the early Kool & The Gang-sounding gem after King Jaja, who rose from slavery to become a wildly successful broker of palm oil in the 19th century.

The rest of the recording is nothing to sleep on as well, with some heavy groove-oriented cuts like “Summer Fun”, “Punk Funk”, “Quiet Island” and others that blur the lines between electric jazz, psyched-out funk, cosmic soul, and R&B.

This album represents the only recording Niles and McNeal did together, and with original copies now going for upwards of $1,600 or more, this is a much welcomed reissue release. Limited to just 1,500 copies and selling quickly, I highly recommend snatching up a copy as soon as possible.