Abstract Hip Hop , Afrobeat , Alternative Fusion , Alternative Rock , Ambient , Blues , Concert , Dancehall , DemonAngel , Disco , DJ , Downtempo , Drum and Bass , Dub , Electro , Electro Dub , Folk , Funk , Gospel , Groove , Hard Rock , Hip Hop , IDM , Jazz , live , Mix , New Jazz , Other , Piano , Podcast , Pop , Pop Folk , Pop Rock , Punk , Ragga , Rap , Rap Fusion , Reggae (45) Rock , Ska , Soul , Spoken Word , Trip Hop , World Music
SFONX, c’est un groupe qui fait danser et transpirer, un concentré de groove bruyant et explosif ! A mi chemin entre rock survolté et funk psychédélique, 9 lyonnais qui n’ont pas froid aux yeux ont inventé le Groove ‘n Roll (Groll pour les intimes). Une solide culture soul, des fulgurances de funk-rock furieux, quelques fragrances d’Afrobeat et de subtils clins d’œil au dancefloor achèvent de donner à ce nouveau cocktail tout son arôme. Guitare, claviers, basse et batterie propulsent cet équipage infernal piloté par deux chanteurs endiablés et pimenté par une section de cuivres délicieusement incisifs. Fort de cette formule irrésistible et imposante, SFONX donne la fièvre aux allumés du genre et le vertige aux moins avertis. Une chose est sûre, vous n’allez pas en croire vos orteils !
This is an intriguing set. Although put out by the Concord subsidiary Peak, the jazz content is pretty low, with the flavor of jazz utilized much more than any serious improvising. However, the dance music is continuous and episodic, and keeps one guessing. A lot of different colors are used (whether it be Louis Van Taylor’s tenor, Karen Briggs or Trey Duncan on violins, the keyboards, or the occasional vocalists), plenty of moods are covered, and the grooves never stop. Its main fault is that the electronic rhythms do not vary often enough (do dancers really need to have the beat stated so obviously all the time?), but in general this is a more interesting set than expected. It works best as background party and dance music.
Twenty-year-old singer Rachel Scharnberg, obviously anything but a sixties kid, presents herself as an artist deeply influenced by original soul and funk music from way back, by the warm and intense performances that made us admire Aretha Franklin and Donny Hathaway, the sound being kept alive by the likes of Daptone Records today. “Plain & Simple” is all about pure, hand made music. No samples, no gadgets, nothing but vintage instruments, an amazing voice and analogue recording gear. In case you ever wondered what makes vinyl records and analogue techniques so special – this is a perfect demonstration of the raw, uncut sound of Soul.
Equally vital to this album as Rachel is, there’s Soul Criminals trombinist and bandleader Michael Theissing-Tegeler (MTT) with his compositions and his unique way of producing. A few years back, he teamed up with The Shack Band and delivered “Geb’s auf” (“Give it up”), a funky gem embraced by DJs, vinyl collectors and soul lovers alike, and now he finally returned to recording. Tegeler draws his inspiration from Daptone mastermind Gabriel Roth’s manifesto “shitty is pretty”, a guide to analogue recording techniques aiming at the intense sound that only a reel-to-reel tape recorder is able to capture. Unpretentious yet sophisticated, Rachel, MTT and the Soul Criminals are on top of their game, young musicians who have spent half their lives on stage and have worked with German greats as diverse as Curse, Tom Gaebel, Sarah Connor, Brings, Stefanie Heinzmann, Denyo or Luis.
This record is driven by honest devotion to music. Music that touches you, makes you want to dance – music that simply feels good. The Soul Criminals are based in Cologne’s Parkhaus-Studio, which itself is widely renowned for distinct, unconventional productions. Soulplex Recordings and online radio station soulsender.de, both highly respected players not only in Cologne’s music scene, have teamed up with Rachel and the Soul Criminals in order to spread the word: It’s “Plain & Simple!”
Palov & Mishkin : The Infamous duo and re edit extraordinaire are bombing the soul out of you with their first album release on Cast-a-blast, following a highly acclaimed compilation Backslam Extravaganza and a series of E.P’s for labels like Gamm, Resence, Scribble, Rebtuz and remixes for The Hot 8 brass band and Lovemonk’s Más Achilifunk – Gipsy Soul From 21st Century. Think Twice selectively combines heavy guitar funk, south American flavors, block breaks and exotic soul with tropicalismo in a playful mash down of styles and genres that characterize the Palov & Mishkin sound.
Hot, young guitarists spring have sprung forth every few years for more decades than I can be bothered to count. Each generation spawns a new crop and while many are momentarily interesting, “guitar god” is a cannibalistic business and very few have much shelf life. There are exceptions and Robert Randolph has taken a bold step forward, daring to join the few and the proud.
Randolph is a unique talent as anyone who has listened to the work of his first three albums with his Family Band or his collaboration with John Medeski and the Dickinson boys of North Mississippi Allstar fame can attest. There is more to Randolph than a dazzling command of the steel guitar, or Sacred Steel as it is referred to in the Church Of God where he first learned the instrument.
There are a host of things that set Randolph apart and one of them becomes obvious in the liner notes he wrote for We Walk This Road. After completing the tour for the Colorblind album, he went in search of a producer with special ears and knowledge; someone who understood the connections of his rock and gospel roots and who would, as Randolph puts it, “help us put those things in their most compelling context.” He found that producer in T Bone Burnett.
I’ve heard people described as having “old souls.” It’s an expression I’ve never much liked but it is an effective bit of shorthand for Randolph. He is still a very young man but his musical upbringing is quite old, having learned his instrument through the traditions of his church. The crafty, versatile Burnett was able to speak Randolph’s language, having studied an impossibly vast scope of American and world musics. When artist and producer got on the same page, they brewed something special blending blues, roots, gospel, soul, and spirit into a potent, magical cocktail.
“If I Had My Way” incorporates a portion of Blind Willie Johnson’s “If I Had My Way” into an original composition Randolph co-wrote with Burnett and an assist from, Ben Harper and it is a magnificent, soaring piece of music fusing gospel and blues with folk. Randolph uses Johnson’s original as a jumping off point and actually “samples” a piece of that original and uses it to segue in and out of his own composition. The segue concept is one used throughout the record with the idea being to tie the music Randolph is making in the present with its roots. There are times these segues are effective bridges between songs but there are times when they do more to distract than connect.
Randolph’s re-imagining of Bob Dylan’s « Shot of Love » hits with the weight and force of a heavyweight’s fist. Dylan is so easy and obvious to cover that nearly everyone does it but so few capture the essence and power of his songs, settling to merely sing them « better” or “prettier.” This version takes the power of the Dylan original and amplifies and magnifies.
The beautiful “I Still Belong To Jesus” opens with more than a passing feeling of Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams.” The airy, ethereal intro gives way to a more substantive, anthemic song that not only proclaims Randolph’s devotion but also delivers a unifying message of social justice. This is another of Randolph’s achievements in the material on this record, both the songs he wrote and those he’s chosen to interpret on the record. There is a theme and a message on this record but it’s one that uplifts rather than preaches. Even John Lennon’s “I Don’t Wanna Be A Soldier,” which can be delivered as scathing, anti-war screed, is a plea for peace and understanding rather than heated rhetoric in Randolph’s hands.
We Walk This Road is soul music in nearly every connotation of the word and its title is instructive. This is the kind of deep, rich, authentic music the world needs and the music contained therein should be experienced as a journey from beginning to end; he wanted his music to have context and We Walk This Road exquisitely provides that. With this album Randolph has made a record worthy of his immense gift and that is cause for celebration and repeated listens.
Maceo Parker (born February 14, 1943) is an American funk and soul jazz saxophonist, best known for his work with James Brown in the 1960s, as well as Parliament-Funkadelic in the 1970s. Parker was a prominent soloist on many of Brown’s hit recordings, and a key part of his band, playing alto, tenor and baritone saxophones. He is now just as well known for his own shows, as he has toured continuously under his own name since the early 1990s and has built up a strong fan base.
Tracklist :
Intro
Gimme Some Love
Uptown Up
Baby Knows
There Was a Time
My Love
Hey Jude
Line Up :
Maceo Parker- Alto Sax and Vocals
Greg Boyer- Trombon
Ron Tooley- Trumpet
Will Boulwares- Hammond B3, Keyboards
Bruno Speight- Guitar
Rodney Curtis- Bass
Jamal Thomas- Drums
Martha High, Correy Parker, Charles Sherrell- Vocals
Human Spirit est un groupe français ayant vu le jour en 1986 à Paris XIVe. Leur musique est une fusion entre le reggae, le funk, le jazz et un brin de rock, résolument engagé et toujours soutenu par une sérieuse section de cuivres, qualifiée de « urban reggae ». Le groupe connut ses heures de gloire essentiellement sur scène au cours des années 1990 ou encore avec des morceaux tels que « RMI », « Police », « Rien à péter » fortement soutenus par Radio Nova. Souvent associés à « l’Hôpital Ephémère » ils firent partie, au côté de FFF, Vercoquin,Juan Rozoff, Malka Family de ce qui fut alors qualifié de « nouvelle scène groove parisienne ».
Discographie: No pasaran, 1992 / L’esprit humain, 1993 / Partisan, 1997. Apparaît également sur: It’s a frenchie reggae party, 1997 / Let’s skank, 1999 / Collectif reggae ragga, 2000
Le flûtiste Magic Malik qui fit partie du groupe pendant dix ans est aujourd’hui une figure importante de la scène française du jazz, en compagnie d’un autre ancien membre, le saxophoniste Denis Guivarc’h.
Le 1er bassiste, Gaby Amireille, a continué avec Pakal King. Le 2nd bassiste, Thierry Negro, a poursuivi avec Faya Dub et Villa St Michel. Le chanteur Jam a poursuivi dans un style hybride RPR (Reggae Pop’n’Roll), entre autres avec les Pigments Libres. Le dernier batteur, Hubert Motto, travaille avec Marc Lavoine.
Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American soul, rhythm and blues, and funk singer, songwriter, and record producer best known for his anthemic music with The Impressions and composing the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film Super Fly. From these works and others, he is highly regarded as a pioneer of funk and of politically conscious African-American music.[1][2] He was also a multi-instrumentalist who played the guitar, bass, piano, saxophone, and drums.
Curtis Mayfield, né le (3 juin 1942 à Chicago et mort le 26 décembre 1999, était un chanteur, auteur et compositeur de soul, de funk, de rhythm and blues, principalement connu pour la bande originale du film de blaxploitation Superfly.
Il fait tout d’abord partie du groupe The Impressions puis il se lance avec succès dans une carrière solo. Il devient probablement le premier de la nouvelle vague de chanteurs afro-américains à introduire des commentaires à caractère social dans ses chansons. Cette musique engagée devient très populaire pendant cette période de difficultés sociales des années 1960 et 1970.
As we’re on a roll call, not only have the Haggis Horns worked with these chart toppers but also some FLY favourites like Nightmare On Wax, Roots Manuva, Mark Ronson and The Cinematic Orchestra and released their debut album, Hot Damn! in 2006 when they were well on their way as the British Dap-Kings.
All was going so well and then founder member and Corinne Bailey-Rae’s husband, the band’s saxophonist Jason Rae tragically died passed away 2008. So, second guessing, this album is formulated on the theme of album title, Keep On Movin’.
Teaming up with Nia Saw on vocals (who has performed around the world with Zap Mama and DJs alongside funk, soul, jazz, northern soul and mate of Paul Weller and legend Keb Darge), the 10 piece band is as horny as funk.
Original from Scotland (hence the name) Malcolm Strachan (trumpet), Atholl Ransome (tenor saxophone and flute) and Ben Barker (guitar) form the core of the band that’s now has expanded to include two more horns (Jim Correy and Rob Mitchell) and Morgan Pugh (bass), Luke Flowers (drums), Sam Bell (percussion) and Joe Tatton (keyboards, guitar)
Whilst this album is coming out on First Word (can you believe Jonny Trunk hadn’t hard of them? This is catalogue number FW55 after all!), the groove is real Freestyle Records, Mr. Finewine and Keb Darge so to speak.
Kicking off with the opening track, ‘Way Of The Haggis’, the Haggis Horns are in full front line blowing action (with funky guitar and strings!). This instrumental sets a high standard but certainly gets us in the groove.
As long time lovers of Alice Russell, Nia certainly has the same funky soul when she joins in on tracks ‘Pass It On’, ‘On The Edge’ and the title track ‘Movin’ On’.
She also features on ‘Too Blind’ and ‘The Cockroach Grind’ which may remind those with good memories of the groove of Scotland’s Average White Band whose’s ‘Pick Up The Pieces’ was so influential back in the day. The Haggis Horns take on this period/classic/style is ‘Putting On The Beef’. Sounds like a euphemism I know, but this is meaty funky soul jazz and comes into the Jazz Chronicles category of “future classics”.
‘Love Gets You High’ probably even more so as the Donald Byrd/Frizzell Brothers influence is all too clear to hear. For rare soul 45 b-sides from New Jersey/West Orange, check out ‘The Snarf Dance’ (what’s Snarf?) and the instrumental ‘The Jerk’.
Whilst label mates The Simonsound are completely different to The Haggis Horns, there is a lineage from funk to soul to hip hop, breaks and beyond.
Ending on a track called ‘Keep On Dancing’, dancing is definitely what you’ll want to do when you’re listening to this album as The Haggis Horns have some of the hardest funk, soul and jazz around town – keep on movin’ people to the sound of The Haggis Horns.
