[engl] The Gunesh Ensemble was founded in 1970 in Ashkhabad, Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic, then part of the Soviet Union. They started out as a vocal group with supporting musicians from Turkmenistan State Radio and TV. Later several young musicians came to play with them and the band's music became much more modern. The group began to play jazz-rock tightly intertwined with traditional Oriental music. With that new musical style the band participated in some popular festivals around the Soviet Union. They received various awards and became very popular. Gunesh has always been in the process of developing and was one of the first and best local jazz-groups to organically combine the principles of jazz and melodic improvisation. The remarkably beautiful arrangements and polyrhythmic compositions were always further developed thematically. This process was highly praised at the Moscow competition With A Song On Life in 1977 where the ensemble became a prize-winner. The Organizing Committee of the Festival Spring Rhythms in Tbilisi (1980) called out members Rishad Shafi as best drummer and Stanislav Morozov as best saxophonist. This, their very fine first LP was originally released in 1980 on the Soviet state label Melodyja and contains traditional Central Asian music in jazz-rock arrangements plus a Vietnamese singer. The line-up has changed many times. Around 65 musicians have been a member of the group at some point in time.

[engl] PLUS TWO BONUS TRACKS! This is an ancient Blue Note rarity recorded at Rudy Van Gelder's legendary studio in 1956 with legendary bass man Paul Chambers doing the deep notes. First press originals in adequate condition go for about 500 Euros. So what does this sextet featuring trumpeters Donald Byrd and Lee Morgan with tenor saxophone hero Hank Mobley as bandleader and piano madcap Horace Silver backing the rhythm section with his extraordinary chord progressions have to offer? The album is widely labeled as hard bop and it shows a great development from the mid to late 1940s bebop scene where John Coltrane, Charlie Parker and other now mystical protagonists brought the swinging dance music of the even older big bands to a new level of sophistication and still maintained an earthy and highly spirited atmosphere. Same goes for the hard bop and post bop scene of the later half of the 1950s from which finally modal jazz and free jazz emerged within the wink of an eye. All four lengthy compositions on this album are still one step behind the next level and show a playfully jamming band executing comprehensible harmony lines backed by tricky yet enthralling grooves that in the end move straight forward despite the rhythm section playing mostly around the pulse. The duels of both trumpets and the tenor sax heat up one?s soul as they are aligned with the racy rhythm patterns. The melodies themselves are quite cheerful and cool. When Paul Chambers takes the bow in one passage of the fourth tune Mobleymania and scratches some cool lines backed up with an everflowing drum pulse nobody may sit still. All six musicians here are fairly well connected with each other in terms of playing tightly to what the next improvises. Especially Mobley burns with every note he plays and if you bushwhack through to the core that carries the steaming dialogues between trumpets and saxophone you will find some maniacs building rhythmical patterns par excellence. This album certainly demands many spins before you will be aware of every beautiful detail. Indeed a classic of 1950s jazz aside from the greasy mainstream sound. Let's go wild with Hank Mobley, Donald Byrd and Lee Morgan.

[engl] An incredible record from reedman Harold McNair ? one of the key Jamaican jazz players who hit the London scene in the same post-colonial wave as Joe Harriott and Shake Keane ? and maybe our favorite of the bunch! Harold's a hell of a talent on both tenor and flute ? and although he might be best known for his background work on late 60s Donovan albums, he really soars here as a soloist ? working with Ornette Coleman group members David Izenzon on bass and Charles Moffett on drums ? both of whom swing wonderfully in McNair's company! The album bills Izenzon and Moffett strongly on the cover ? as if they're one of the main attractions ? but what's most compelling is the way that McNair and pianist Alan Branscombe bring the American musicians into their own sort of groove ? a modal, soulful style that's completely sublime ? and which makes the album a killer all the way through. Titles include the original ''Affectionate Fink'' ? plus great takes on ''I Love You'', ''O Barquinho'', ''You Stepped Out Of A Dream'', and ''Here's That Rainy Day'' ? all soulful swingers.

[engl] Calling all students of late 70s Nigerian Boogie. Class is in and you?re about to get schooled by music professor Josephine Mokwunyei, aka Joe Moks. Spotted by legendary producer, Odion Iruoje, and nurtured by his protege, Alex Tony Okoroji, Joe Moks pioneered a wonky, hi-tech style of funk that would become the sound of 80s Nigeria. Her album Boys And Girls is brash, bouncy and fun, decorated by scatty synth lines and propelled by the ?magic hand claps? of Nigerian rhythm legends Steve Black, Goddy Igidigi and Ifi Okwechime. The title track and ?You Look Without Seeing? are spaced-out party starters. ?Closer Than Skin? boasts a super slinky bass line and ?Love Is Gonna Pay? is a slice of Bony M Euro pop. And, just beneath the froth, strong intelligent lyrics demanding respect and equality. ?Being In Love Is Being Involved? was the blueprint of new kind of relationship Nigerian women were looking for. Joe Moks only made one album. She made a few appearances on Victor Uwaifo?s TV show before becoming a professor of Music and Theatre Arts at the University of Benin. But forty years on, Boys And Girls remains a lesson in fun and intelligent Nigerian boogie. - Peter Moore, www.africanrevolutions.com

[engl] Hutson’s first solo album since leaving The Impressions bearing the influences of Curtom Records’ main man Curtis Mayfield. Considered one of the best soul albums released in the summer of 1973 it features some of Leroy’s most popular tracks ‘Love Oh Love’, ‘When You Smile’ and ‘So In Love With You’. Part of Acid Jazz’s campaign to reissue all of Mr. Hutson’s classic albums which has so far seen impressive support at radio and press.

[engl] Leroy Hutson’s final studio album (to date), recorded in 2009. Originally only available on CD and quickly deleted. The demise of Curtom in the early eighties saw Hutson relocate to Elektra, where in 1982 he released Paradise – highly acclaimed and much loved for a time it looked like that release may spell the end but some twenty-seven years later, the newly monikered ‘Lee’ Huston unveiled Soothe You Groove You.

[engl] Deluxe reissue of Leroy’s seventh and final album on Curtom Records. Features amongst others ‘Right Or Wrong’, ‘(You Put The) Funk In My Life’ and ‘So Nice’. Whilst the album comes with full colour inner sleeves complete with in-depth notes by award winning soul expert Tony Rounce.

[engl] PLUS 4 BONUS TRACKS! Les Baxter (1922-1996) used to be an utterly talented composer and bandleader who was on the go to the max during his active years. His version and as I should say vision of jazz music was a contemporary fresh and colorful sound with an exotic vibe due to the use of many elements of latin music within a modernized big band sound. We speak of the exotica and space age era when jazz music became more than just a few musicians on stage in a back street pub sweating their life out while improvising. He draws inspiration from the various swing orchestras of the late 1920s and combines this lush big band approach with a hot south american groove that shows an affinity for Cuban club music, for mambo and salsa. With rhythmical effects and a few wordless female vocal passages added he builds this haunting jungle atmosphere on top while leaving out the too obvious animal voices. The latin jazz and swing elements harmonize fairly well with each other and the melodies Les Baxter and his orchestra create drag you into a different world. You can dance to this or just close your eyes and float upon this gentle river of sound. The tunes are all built and arranged like a movie score which is no wonder as Les Baxter has been a soundtrack composer ever since. What makes this record so special are the pictures that come to ones mind with the always changing soundscapes it features. It is by far not only an evergreen jungle forest with big cats, apes and savage men hunting for white goddesses but also an urban jungle with grey skyscrapers growing beside the dirty streets, a bridge between the exotic dreams of each young American in the 1950s and the often gloomy reality in the big cities. But it is always a joyful experience. The album gets performed by an orchestra of extraordinary talent with an exceptionally tight interplay and still sounds fresh and powerful after nearly 60 years. A reissue is welcome to drag it back into the light of attention as many younger jazz fanatics might have overlooked this gem due to whatever circumstances. This new edition makes sure ?Jungle jazz? survives and infects a whole new generation of swing kids.

[engl] Soul Jazz Records are releasing flautist Lloyd McNeill's album 'Elegia' (1980). Originally released on the artists' own private press Baobab label in New York, the album is a serious collectors' piece, a heavyweight and fascinating fusion of deep spiritual jazz with Brazilian rhythms and melodies. The album has been out of print for nearly 40 years. This groundbreaking album is the culmination of Lloyd McNeill's many years involved with Brazilian musicians and features the great percussionist Nana Vasconcelos alongside fellow Brazilians Portinho and Dom Salvador, and US jazz musicians including bassist Cecil McBee. In a 50-year musical career, McNeill has worked with many artists including Nina Simone, Eric Dolphy, Mulatu Asatke and Sabu Martinez. This is the fifth Lloyd McNeill album that Soul Jazz Records have released and follows on from the recent release of 'Treasures' (1976) and the earlier albums 'Asha' (1969), 'Tanner Suite' (1969) and 'Washington Suite' (1970), all of which are being re-pressed to coincide with this new release.

[engl] A vinyl album containing the dozen solo tracks Mary recorded for Modern in the 60s and two gospel-soul essentials from the 80s. Mary Love’s vocals topped and tailed the first two groundbreaking UK Kent LPs in 1982 and she has had a place in the hearts of Kent collectors ever since. Her recordings for Los Angeles’ Modern label covered the golden age of soul music, 1965-1967, and ranged from Motown-inspired dance tracks to beautiful ballads, raunchy blues-based numbers and even a gospel-tinged rave-up on ‘Dance Children Dance’. We have collected them all on to a vinyl LP for the first time and added two highlights from her self-produced soulful gospel tracks, recorded in the 80s. That era was indeed her second coming, musically as well as spiritually, with ‘Come Out Of The Sandbox’ taking on anthemic status among European soul fans. ‘You Turned My Bitter Into Sweet’, ‘Lay This Burden Down’ and ‘Let Me Know’ had already achieved that standing among Northern Soul fans, who have danced along for many years. The more tender side of her work can be heard in Ashford & Simpson’s ‘Baby I’ll Come’, while her only Modern hit, the sensual ‘Move A Little Closer’, is another show-stopper. Mary loved the family atmosphere that Modern Records created at their South Normandie Ave complex. Los Angeles soul was booming and producers, writers and arrangers of the calibre of Maxwell Davis, Arthur Wright, Frank Wilson, Marc Gordon, the Pipkin brothers and Richard Parker were employed by the company to bring out the best of this vivacious young singer. Sales were healthy but not spectacular and, like many artists, Mary only found out later in life that her work was revered across the ocean in Europe. That said, we then got to meet her and see her perform several times. Ace/Kent and the Love family continue to have a great relationship.

[engl] Even half a Mal is more greatness than many people out there could take. Mel Waldron was another 1950s master of hard bop jazz and finds himself in illustrious company on his 1957 debut album. John Coltrane and Sahib Shihab are masters of tenor and alto saxophone and jazz freaks break into a sweat of joy when they hear these names. Coltrane alone could be a reason to fall in love with this record. You can always hear his very original kind of playing the tenor. No wonder that first pressings of this gem of an album go for 250 USD and even more in fine conditions. It might be a lesser known participation of the great John Coltrane with another bandleader but as he glows permanently on this album the rest of the musicians do the same. The band goes full throttle when needed but there are also thought provoking slow tunes generating an atmosphere of melancholy when Waldron makes his piano sing a dark ballad while the drummer barely stands out and just backs up the whole composition with a low key beat linked to the equally reluctant bass line. Trumpet and tenor come in play after a while to moan wearily on top of that reduced rhythmical pattern. Dark and smoke filled bars in a nameless American metropolis are exactly, what associate with these haunting melodies. And out of a sudden the band gains pace and the whole atmosphere becomes more and more cheerful. The grooves are swinging and good for a dance or two. The leading instruments alto sax, tenor sax and trumpet chatter frolicsome like a bunch of youngsters on a night out in town. These changes of atmosphere are one of the strong points of this record. Another is the overall tight interplay of all instruments. These cats were hard-nosed veterans of the jazz genre taking the 1940s dance club sounds to another level. Bebop turns into hard bop and this album shows the dignity in such a crystal clear way.