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Originally released in 1980 on short-lived Oregon label ‘Match Box Recordings’ and recently unearthed for BBE Music by The Mighty Zaf, ‘Burnin’’ is the only album recorded by Portland jazz/funk band Carl Smith And The Natural Gas Company.

The story of this album’s recording has gone down in infamy among the remaining band members and Carl Smith’s daughter Carlee (who performed lead vocals on ‘Love Won’t Let Me Go’), all of whom recall a fraught, rushed recording process, led by a producer who had no musical experience and was nothing more than a puppet for the somewhat shady label owners. This led to the album being cut too fast and accidentally pitched up a key, so if you want to hear it as the band intended, pull the pitch control down a little on your turntable.

Upon its release, the album received airplay on several radio stations across Oregon and Washington, the band were invited to play live on local TV channel KGW, and copies sold out quickly within the local area. Despite the bitter-sweet circumstances around the record, Burnin’ remains a fantastic document of this well-drilled and talented group of players, showcasing original funk, jazz and soul compositions mostly arranged by Larry Dunlap, who went on to become musical director for the Pointer Sisters and write for Cleo Laine during a long and fruitful career in music. – BBE 

You can hear it in the songs of Amerie, Amy Winehouse, Kanye West, Mark Ronson and Timbaland. Even in this digital age, the beating heart of modern R&B and hip-hop is still vintage soul, funk and jazz. Whether it’s Winehouse sampling Motown’s finest or Timbaland hijacking Nina Simone’s “Sinnerman”, the sound of the sixties and seventies has never been so sought after.

Modern producers, searching for music of integrity, continue to scour dusty racks of records for inspiration. What Kon and Amir have done is make their lives easier. The first collection in the five part “Off Track” series, contains 28 superb songs that you’ve probably never heard of. From a disco tribute to Muhammad Ali to a slice of soulful South African jazz, this is music for the connoisseur. Just don’t be surprised when you hear it being sampled on the next big R&B anthem…

Like legendary treasure-hunters, Kon and Amir have spent the past twenty-five years excavating record bins finding gems to pierce ears with. Fortunately, everyone gets to share in the riches of their labor with the release of their latest offering The “Off Track” Series; Long forgotten musicians are now getting their proper dues and appreciative audiences are being turned on to some amazing music.

The Off Track series builds on the successes of their highly respected “On Track” series. Unlike the “On Track” series, which featured short snippets of samples and breaks, the Off Track double disc series features full versions of some the best and rarest audible gems in their entirety. - BBE

Scotland’s foremost (possibly only) disco obsessive Al Kent returns with a fourth volume in the critically acclaimed Disco Love album series.

Previous volumes of Disco Love had critics saying things like “Some of it is risqué, cheesy and (may I say) sexy. Great stuff for us disco-geeks” and “A real gem for the disco connoisseurs” and “This will enhance any deep disco collection” and “the ever-reliable Glaswegian crate digger unearths even more dusty gems” and “Just when you think that Al Kent guy is not going to get you again, he assembles a third Disco Love that is more stimulating than the first two volumes” and, less excitingly, “The mastering and sound quality is great”.

So, just when you think that Al Kent guy isn’t going to get you again, here he is – with fifteen more obscure disco tracks (or at the very least soul records you could dance to), most of which were pressed in limited quantities before sinking without a trace - BBE

The Chisa Years: 1965–1975 (Rare and Unreleased) is a compilation album by South African jazz trumpeter Hugh Masekela. The album consists of 14 rare or forgotten tracks recorded by Stewart Levine and Hugh Masekela from 1965 to 1975 when they ran their own Chisa Records label.

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Thom Jurek of Allmusic wrote “In sum, there isn’t a weak moment on this entire collection. It’s appeal is wide and deep and one can only hope this is the first of many volumes of this material to appear. BBE Records has done a stellar job in making this slab available.”

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Dan Nishimoto of the Prefix Magazine stated “The compilation focuses on Masekela’s original idea of “African American Music.” From the early experiments of the Zulus (a group featuring M’Bulu) in mixing doo-wop, rhythm & blues and South African gospel and the mbaqanga/”Grazing in the Grass”-style work of the generically named Johannesburg Street Band to the clearly Fela-influenced Ojah (Masekela’s band in the mid-’70s, consisting of players from Ghana and Nigeria) and the ready-for-primetime belting of M’Bulu, each track reveals a multi-pronged effort to find and challenge the notion(s) of how African and American cultural forms could interact.” - BBE

A Disco-Boogie must have!

A homage, Ay to Zee, to New York’s late 70s disco scene, filtered through an Accra late-night haze: Ga vocals and West African percussion all the way, all of it composed and produced by the artist himself. A generous eleven tracks of all killer-no-filler boogie business: one of those albums you just put on, and leave on.

An essential partner to BBE’s double Buari LP Feelings/Sidiku Buari & His Jam Busters, Disco Soccer is reissued from the original masters and reproduced on 180-gram vinyl with new liner notes and original artwork. – BBE

1.Killer and cult electro funk hip hop musical U.F.O. from 1987 Japan!

2.Highly sought-after record reissued for the first time since its original release

3.Sound restoration, mastering and lacquer cut by Timmion Cutting Lab

4.180g heavy vinyl pressing, reverse board print

5.Comes with a 4 pages insert including the original Japanese one, an interview with Hoodoo Fushimi (in English and Japanese), exclusive pictures and the album's lyrics translated in English.

1987, Kanagawa, not so far from Tokyo, Japan. Minoru Fushimi teaches his high-school classes during the day. Back from work, he transforms into "Hoodoo" Fushimi, turns on the drum machines, the synthesizers and the sequencers, blends them with his own shamisen playing and builds a cult album: Kenka Oyaji is born and becomes a milestone in Japan's early hip hop and electro-funk history, now reissued for the first time since its original release, in collaboration with Hoodoo Fushimi himself. Essential!-  Bandcamp

The "Beauty and the Beast" 12” was the first collaboration between Chinese Guzeng virtuoso Bei Bei and producer/multi-instrumentalist Shawn Lee. It only hinted at the imagination of Into the Wind, their full-length debut. The guzeng is a revered, ancient, traditional instrument belonging to the Asian long zither family. Bei Bei studied in China but now lives in California. She and Lee met only once but made the album by sending files back and forth between California and London. The end result perfectly marries Lee’s blunted hip-hop and slippery funk beats to the timeless, soaring lyricism of Bei Bei's instrument. The sound feels like the place where kung fu and blaxploitation soundtracks, soulful spiritual jazz, and of course, Chinese folk music, overlap but keep their respective identities while being transformed into something else. Check the boss spaces and textural dynamics at work in the title track. Lee paints Bei Bei's seductive, exotic Eastern melody with a tough, percussive groove, a full horn section, and a punchy bassline. It sounds something like funky '70s movie music married to modern big-band arrangements led by Alice Coltrane’s modal harp. “Bei’s Bossa” lives up to its name with a shimmering guzeng line backed by swaying electric guitars, muted drums, and a fluid bassline. “East” begins inside a wind tunnel of effects and plucked guzeng chords, accented by a Farfisa. It weds Arab and Chinese folk sounds to trippy textures before it breaks into a full-on groove-drenched swagger with a swtichblade guzeng solo, hopped-up bass, skittering snares, and horns and winds popping on queue.(Think Johnny Pate or Quincy Jones in the early '70s.) Georgia Ann Muldrow adds fractured, future-perfect soul vocals to the restrained groove on “Make Me Stronger,” and a jazz-noir spirit to “Willingness.” “The Ambush” reflects the influences of both Richard Evans and Dorothy Ashby, and carries a tense yet breezy groove of drama and celebration. Into the Wind evokes many sounds and musics, but is ultimately its own sexy animal. Just say yes. – All Music

Sault, as ever produced by Inflo with Cleo Sol and Kid Sister the primary co-writers and vocalists, start their fourth album by striding toward the horizon with a glimmering polyrhythmic call to arms. "Strong" contains so much purposeful movement and ornamentation -- wriggling disco-funk with a drumline interjection, impelling voices, and ascending synthesizer and strings -- that the rest of Untitled (Rise) feels destined to be a letdown. The song instead sets the tone for a sequence that's less mournful, much more energized, and angrier than the third LP, Untitled (Black Is). "I Just Want to Dance" is likewise layered, part high-velocity U.K. street soul and part batucada with more marching drums. It's a celebration of life through physical release -- a means of coping with tragic injustice. The same undaunted spirit courses throughout "Son Shine," gospel boogie bearing a devastating group hook, "Free," a cracking statement of defiance, and "Street Fighter" and "The Beginning & the End," a pair of highly percussive combat dances. Working a slinking soul-jazz groove, "Uncomfortable" is among Sault's quietest numbers but is a seething confrontation itself: "Maybe you're uncomfortable/With the fact we're waking up/Why do you keep shooting us?/How do you turn hate to love?" The interludes here are almost as weighty, typified by a rousing cadence call and Kid Sister's caustic upbraiding of performative allyship. From beginning to end, the parenthetical word of the album title is sung, spoken, and chanted, serving a mobilizing and oppositional purpose for the most part. It's also used in an early interlude as a morning greeting for a child, presumably the subject of "Little Boy," a sobering soul lullaby that ends this group's most striking and affecting work yet. 5, 7, Untitled (Black Is), and Untitled (Rise), issued within 16 months, amount to exactly three hours of exceptionally recombinant and enriching pro-black music with minimal excess. The rate and power of the output is stupefying. - All Music

Favorite Recordings and Charles Maurice proudly present the 5th edition of the AOR Global Sounds compilations series: 8 rare and hidden tracks, produced between 1977 and 1984 in various parts of the world. Started in 2015, the AOR Global Sounds series was born from the will of Charles Maurice (aka Pascal Rioux) to share his longtime love for the AOR and WestCoast movement and highlight its influence for many artists in the late 70s and early 80s. In this 5th volume, he selected again highly forgotten productions, deeply infused with Disco and Soul flavors.

Half of the compilation’s tracklist is naturally coming from the US, homeland of this music style, while the other half is made of productions from all over the globe, from France or United Kingdom to Venezuela. And for most of these beautiful songs, it came from artists and bands rather unknown and often released as private press. – Favourite Recordings

One of the best jazz-funk-fusion albums from the '70s Euro scene, featuring such giants as Charly Antolini (famous for his MPS recordings) on drums, Max Greger Jr. on electric piano, Moog, Hammond, and Mellotron, and Milan Pilar on electric bass. Top-notch jamming and soulful funky-jazz sound with some kraut-prog touches, recorded at the legendary Studio 70 in Munich. Includes the rare-groove classic "Onkel Joe" and more. Original artwork and master tape sound. – Forced Exposure

Jay Days' only album presents eight killer funky AOR sounds and blue-eyed soul tracks. Rarely surfaced in the collectors' market but now the album is finally reissued on vinyl. – Bandcamp

Official replica re-issue of a South African jazz-funk rarity from Teaspoon & The Waves.

Released in 1977 on Soul Jazz Pop, a subsidiary label of Mavuthela Music Company / Gallo, Teaspoon & The Waves’ self-titled album is an absolute masterpiece. Best known for the song 'Oh Yeh Soweto’, which is an astonishing adaptation of Lamont Dozier's anthem 'Going Back to My Roots', this track has become a contemporary underground club classic in recent times and has been featured in sets from a cross-section of DJs. With such a massive calling card song, it could be easy to write off the album as a typical one-tracker (like so many records often are), but that is a long way from the truth. Each of the remaining four tracks are super strong and, for us here at Mr Bongo, this has to be our favourite South African record of this era. 'Saturday Express' is a jazz-funk/disco stomper which will soon be lighting up dancefloors again. 'Wind and Fire' is true afro-jazz-funk excellence, with great spacey synths and reggae-inspired guitar grooves riding throughout. The opener, 'Friday Night’, also has a slightly reggae-tinged tropical groove, whilst 'Got Me Tight' finishes off the session with a feel-good jazz-funk workout that features cool, quirky, Patrick Adams-esque synths.

Saxophonist Teaspoon Ndlela has had an amazing and rich musical career. Releasing albums on records labels Soul Jazz Pop, Hit Special, Gallo GRC, alongside working with and writing for South African artists such as Mpharanyana, Stimela, Sipho Gumede and Sgu. He also features on the Paul Simon track 'Gumboots' taken from the iconic 'Graceland' project. Though best known for 'Oh Yeh Soweto' we hope this re-issue helps demonstrate that there is much more magic in this wonderful musician's repertoire to discover. – Bandcamp

The Nineteenth Whole were an Indianapolis-based funky jazz outfit who were part of a very vibrant scene. Jazz guitar legend ‘Grant Green’ had originally hailed from there and he recruited the members of the 19th Whole as his rhythm section for live dates. (Green also discovered the other great Indianapolis jazz outfit Funk Inc. at about this time.) The attention that followed their work with Green allowed the Nineteenth Whole to sign with producer Bob Porter (responsible for many superb jazz productions for Prestige and Atlantic) on Eastbound, a label he had set up with Detroit independent Westbound Records.

Fronted by Billy Wooten’s distinctive vibes, joined by guitar legend Cornell Dupree (you all know his opening riff on the intro of Aretha Franklin’s ‘Respect’) and percussionist Buddy Caldwell (THE session musician for respected labels such as Prestige & Muse) makes Smilin’ an organ funk groove classic at its best!

Recorded in 1972 by the legendary Rudy Van Gelder (known for recording Miles Davis in the early 1950’s and the countless work he did for Blue Note, Prestige, Verve .. and many others) at the Indianapolis club that gave the band their Eastbound name: ‘The Nineteenth Whole’. Production on the album was handled by Bob Porter (responsible for many superb jazz productions for Prestige and Atlantic).

Presented here are five lengthy soul-jazz pieces (including material from ‘Sly Stone’, ‘War’ & ‘The Jackson 5’) with funky grooves and some of the best sparkling organ & guitar licks you’ll ever hear. This album sets the stage for a constant shift in grooves, a collage of earthy Funk, Soul, Rock and Jazz Fusion straight outta 1972… an emotional ride packed with the main ingredients for a ‘get down’.

The Nineteenth Whole’s first (and only) album was originally released in 1972 on Eastbound Records, super rare and fetching large sums on the collectors market, now finally back available as a limited (500 copies) deluxe vinyl edition. – Tidal Waves Music

The stars and their reflection on the sea still inspire Pellegrino and his live band Zodyaco. Their second LP 'Morphè' released on Early Sounds Recordings, is an ode to Naples as seen from Vesuvius. The ensemble that follows him through this musical journey has been enriched with new members for the continuous development of the label's distinctive Mediterranean sound; this marks a further step into the evolution of their Neapolitan melodic disco from the slopes of Vesuvius.
The sound and aesthetic metamorphosis of this second release, which gives the title to the LP [ the greek word "Morphé" ] is inspired by the conflicting scenarios of the Neapolitan metropolis; always caught up between the never ending and frenetic flow of its narrow alleys and the soothing relief of the sea, with the night as the backdrop that is not able to light it up its inner depths. – On Bandcamp

To catch the attention of our discerning, critical and cynical ears, any demos that people send to us here at Jazzman have to be pretty damn good. Yes they all get listened to, but very few make it this far as an official Jazzman CD and vinyl release. In fact the last time we released some recently-recorded music was a couple of years ago with the Natural Yogurt Band, which we were happy to see become an instant success. You see, we're quite fussy because in this day and age we can't afford to lose money by putting out a so-so record. We also have to like it a LOT, not just because we'll have to listen to it over and over again, but because we want you to too! So here is our next attempt at world domination, the debut album by The Greg Foat Group. DARK IS THE SUN Recorded in Sweden, 'Dark is the Sun' is a concept album based on themes and variations by British pianist/composer/arranger Greg Foat, who has created an intriguing blend of non-contemporary jazz sounds with classic scoring techniques. An exotic array of unorthodox instrumentation was utilized, including harpsichord, tubular bells and a 15 piece choir. With musical reference and influence from such luminaries as Bruno Nicolai, Michel Legrand and Serge Gainsbourg as well as a firm nod towards UK jazzmen Michael Garrick, Keith Mansfield and Alan Hawkshaw, the result is highly-listenable, enduring and fulfilling for those who like real music played with real instruments. - Jazzman

It's safe to say that starting a jazz album with a version of Led Zeppelin's "Black Dog" was quite a daring deed, to say the least. In Argentina -- back in 1977.

And yet this is something a musician with the career of Jorge Navarro could afford. Navarro belongs to a generation of musicians who shaped the history of jazz music in Argentina, starting already in the mid-50s alongside other renowned jazzmen such as Lalo Schifrin, Leandro "Gato" Barbieri, "Baby" López Furst or Jorge López Ruiz.

This tightly-knit group of musicians often looked abroad and followed the dominant current in the US, going through swing and be-bop phases, but towards the end of the sixties many started to develop their own identity, a tendency that intensified in the early 70s.

In Argentina, "con polenta" is an expression used to describe something with great energy or strength -- which perfectly defines the mood for the album. As many other musicians, most notably Schifrin and Barbieri (who enjoyed a huge international success and would only sporadically return to Argentina), Navarro had just left the country and spent several years in the USA, returning to his homeland full of energy and new ideas, which translated into his debut solo album. A rocking blend of Jazz and Funk, the album unexpectedly kicks off with a groovy cover of Led Zeppelin's "Black Dog" and includes equally wicked takes on compositions by Eumir Deodato, Keith Jarrett and Joe Farrell, as well as two self-penned originals and a funky number by Roberto Valencia, who's in charge of percussion in the album.

Ancestral Afro-Venezuelan rhythms meet futuristic Latin jazz, raw funk and Afrobeat on Raúl Monsalve y Los Forajidos’ exhilarating new ‘Bichos’ album for Olindo Records. Venezuelan bassist Raúl Monsalve leads an all-star ensemble of musical trailblazers including “the voice of Venezuela” Betsayda Machado, singer Luzmira Zerpa (Family Atlantica) and drummer Dave De Rose (Agile Experiments, Moloko, Mark Ronson).

Raúl Monsalve has dedicated much of his life to understanding and learning traditional Afro-Venezuelan music, and studying under some of its greatest proponents among the percussionists of his home country, whilst at the same time taking as much interest in the sounds emanating from the fearless edges of jazz, rock, African and early electronic music.

With producer/engineer/drummer Malcolm Catto (Heliocentrics, Quantic, Yussef Kamaal) behind the recording and mixing desk, Raul brought together a like-minded cast of friends from Venezuela, Paris and London, to help him create a fresh sound, capturing the essence of both the African and indigenous roots of Venezuelan music, and the forward-looking sounds of afrobeat, gritty Latin jazz and experimental electronic music. ‘Bichos’, Spanish for ‘vermin’, ‘bugs’, ‘beasts’ but also used in Venezuela to refer to someone as a “nasty piece of work”, draws all these strands together. The album uses a variety of animals, such as the mosquito, butterfly, pig, snake, rooster and flea, to represent a wide range of human qualities, like greed, hate, love & compassion, and their impact on Venezuelan and worldwide corruption & division, the strengths of friendship, family, collaboration, rebellion and survival.

“Bichos” is not only a superb introduction to Raúl Monsalve, but also to a swathe of incredible musicians you might still be unfamiliar with. It’s also a brilliant window into the rich musical seam of Venezuelan music, and an excellent look at how it might interconnect with wider musical parallels. - Olindo

The official Mr Bongo reissue! 

A1. Eu Hoje Acordei Com A Luz Do Sol 2:50 / A2. Salamandras 4:44 / A3. Preludio Em Si Bemol Menor 1:50 / A4. Viver 3:15 / A5. Só 3:53 / A6. Sem Nome 3:35 // B1. Primitivo 5:40 / B2. Irracional 3:12 / B3. Papa-Mama 4:27 / B4. Imagem 3:12 / B5. Yélris 1:35

Brazilian arranger and composer Hareton Salvanini was born in Bauru and grew up in Campinas. S.P 73 is his first LP – he worked tirelessly with his right man and brother, Ayrton, was a theatre director. The 'Hareton + Meta' EP was written and recorded for one of Ayrton’s productions – Hareton wrote the music, Ayrton the lyrics – which was given out at performances. – Mr Bongo

Dark Entries is humbled to continue digging through the archives of legendary producer Patrick Cowley. While best known for his production on chart-topping cybernetic disco anthems such as Sylvester’s “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)” or his own “Menergy”, Cowley, who passed away from AIDS-related illness in 1982, left us with a substantial body of work. Since 2009, Dark Entries has been working with Cowley’s friends and family to shed light on the lesser known facets of this singular artist’s output. This has resulted in a string of celebrated archival albums, including Catholic (featuring Jorge Socarras), School Daze, Muscle Up, Afternooners, and the recent Mechanical Fantasy Box. Some Funkettes, the latest addition to this series, is a collection of previously unreleased cover songs recorded from 1975-1977. These raw, unembellished tributes both showcase Cowley’s early musical interests and chart the development of his production techniques.

Some Funkettes opens with Cowley’s sauntering instrumental rendition of “Do It Anyway You Wanna”, the disco classic by People’s Choice. Next is a psychedelic reworking of the Temptations’ “Papa Was a Rolling Stone”, here hazily retitled “Papa Wuzza Rollinston”. Over its 7 minute runtime, the track’s metronomic, minimal groove builds to a frantic synth solo - this is pure Bay Area motorik. “Spiked Punch”, a curious riff on Herbie Hancock’s “Chameleon” follows. Cowley’s lurching, minimalist reimagining of Hancock’s opus prefigures the work he would later do on Sylvester’s masterpiece “I Need Somebody to Love Tonight”. Side B opens with a truly important historical document: Cowley’s cover of Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love”. The Moroder-produced disco anthem was a critical influence on Cowley - he would later resculpt the original song into arguably its highest form with his 15-minute-long remix. The instrumental cover version here is sparse and euphoric, brimming with classic Cowley synth signatures alongside the infectious Moroder bassline. A relatively faithful take on Bazuka’s 1975 funk classic “Dynomite” follows. The record closes with the dub version of “Spiked Punch”, which highlights developments in Cowley’s recording and synthesis techniques by way of its resonant burbles and spring reverb-laden passages.

Some Funkettes was made possible with help from Patrick's brother Jim and his former studiomate Maurice Tani. All songs were mastered for vinyl by George Horn. The sleeve is a collage designed in 1975 by Cowley’s former roommate Francesca Rosa that was found covering a reel to reel box. It features a yin-yang symbol and a photograph of a scruffy 24 year old Patrick, to which we added his original handwriting. Each record comes with an insert featuring a four page essay by Francesca as well as a postcard featuring liner notes and a photograph by Cowley’s roommate and best friend, Theresa McGinley. This peek into Cowley’s formative years arrives just in time for what would have been his 70th birthday. – Dark Entries

Alice Clark's highly sought-after Soul Jazz classic produced by Mainstream Records' Bob Shad in 1972. Featuring such classics as "Don't You Care" and "Never Did I Stop Loving You" and remastered from the original tapes, this release is the first official reissue of Alice Clark’s original album for decades, a long-overdue release of one of the best Soul albums ever recorded. – Bandcamp

Around his emergence back in 2016, George Van Den Broek’s Yellow Days sat at the mellow edges of indie, mixing a hazy, lo-fi singer-songwriter aesthetic with jazzy inflections; think Mac DeMarco taking on blue-eyed soul. And while the Canadian troublemaker does, in fact, make an appearance on the Surrey songwriter’s second, it’s the flip side of his sound that takes centre-stage on ‘A Day In A Yellow Beat’: it’s a jazz deep-dive. There are sampled, spoken-word interludes (“The trippers, the grasshoppers, the hip ones, all gathered in secrecy, and flying high as a kite” goes ‘(Pot Party)’ as if you required any hint as to where George’s head might be); further guest spots from noted UK trumpeter Nick Walters and American R&B singer Shirley Jones. And while it does quickly blend into one long - and at 24 tracks, it is long - medley - he’s created a heady, vibey, dare we say it - groovy - mood. – diymag.com

Washington collective, The 3 Pieces, privately-pressed Iwishcan William on their own DL Records in 1982. The 12 has Discogs, for one, confused. Is it soul, rap, jazz, go-go, funk, electro, or educational? By nature of its birthplace and date of birth, it`s all of those. 

Synths shimmer in harp-like glissando. The bass grumbles, rumbles, machine-made. The beat pops and locks. The whole thing grooving and exuding positivity. One part the cosmic funk of say Cloud One`s Patty Duke. Another, the balearic chug of Will Powers` Adventures In Success. Like Brother D it looks to “agitate, educate, and organize”, and stirs in the sentiments of Razzy`s I Hate Hate. Imagine if the Last Poets jammed with sister Sarah Webster Fabio. Keys parp like car horns, a real trumpet blows a Don Cherry solo, but the track really revolves around its sweet Sesame Street call-and-response chorus:

“I wish love. I can love. I will love. I am love.” – Deejay.de

Originally released in 1973, the record sounds simultaneously vintage and contemporary. It is akin to something Madlib might dream up whilst lost in Japan collaborating with Min'yō players at a recording session. The record features some amazing shakuhachi (bamboo flute) playing by Hozan Yamamoto, which gives the music a haunting, dreamlike atmosphere. You can almost visualise the long grass blowing in the wind, and hear the bamboo rustling in the distance on a long hot summer’s day. Takeshi Inomata, Tadao Sawai and Kazue Sawai anchor the session. Takeshi’s exceptionally funky-drum work will almost certainly get some producers dusting off and firing up their MPC's. Whilst Kazue and Tadao work their magic on the koto (a traditional string instrument).

Though certainly not an ambient record, 'Jazz-Rock' has the same meditative, other-worldly quality that invites you to sit back, listen and be transported somewhere else. Unfortunately, until now the 'Jazz Rock' album is a scarcity that commanded a high price-tag only for the most hardened of record collectors. So it is pleasure to make it accessible to all, and we hope you dig this lost, obscure future-classic as much as we do. – Mr Bongo

Afro-Rock + Funk + Disco + Psychedelia = Sweet Spot

Ofege was formed in the early 1970s by a bunch of teenagers at the St. Gregory’s College in Lagos Nigeria. They were largely influenced by the guitar solos of Carlos Santana, Jeff Beck & Jimmy Page while closer to home, they were influenced by the music of ‘BLO’ (Berkley Jones, Laolu Akins and Mike Odumosu), ‘Monomono’ (led by Joni Haastrup), The Funkees, and Ofo The Black Company. Due to their vibrant combo of sweet harmonies, hooks & fuzz, Ofege would become one of the most legendary Nigerian groups of all time, with expressive sales and national stardom. At the turn of the century (and because of tracks appearing on various psychedelic music compilations) Ofege would receive international acknowledgment for being the first of their kind and the ultimate West-African psychedelic funk band! 

Their debut album (Try And Love, EMI 1973 – also reissued by Tidal Waves Music) was recorded while the band members were still in high school (average age of 16) … their follow up ‘The Last Of The Origins’ (Recorded in 1975 and released on EMI in 1976) took some years to come out because some band members had to finish school first. ‘The Last Of The Origins’ is an exceptional record with a deep psychedelic approach. Complex rhythm sections, African inspirations, huge breaks, wah wah guitars and cosmic synths …it’s all there! Easily one of the best Afro-funk albums recorded in Nigeria in the 70s. – Tidal Waves Music

Skull Session is a monster of an album that keeps Nelson’s 1960s trademark sound but takes a deep dive into Jazz-funk and adds disco, groovy soul, Bossa nova and electronic funk in the process. Oliver Nelson successfully included electronic instruments (like the Moog & ARP) and the incorporation of the rhythms that are often associated with them…all this without detracting in any way from the high-quality recordings he became known for. Every track is an original composition with a strong melody line and an imaginative arrangement…all living up to Oliver Nelson’s tremendous reputation as an arranger and composer. A sonic testament in every sense of the word. This is a GEM that is a must own for any kind of Bop fan. ​

Today we are proud to present to you the much-needed vinyl reissue of this outstanding album originally released in 1975 on the Flying Dutchman label. This reissue is now available as a deluxe 180g vinyl edition (limited to 500 copies), packaged in a gatefold jacket featuring the original artwork and sleeve notes by jazz novelist Nat Hentoff. – Tidal Waves Music 

The Jazz-Funk cult classic reissued!

Experience Unlimited (also known as simply E.U.) was a Washington, D.C.-based go-go/funk band that enjoyed its height of popularity in the 1980s and early 1990s. Fronted by lead singer/bassist Gregory "Sugar Bear" Elliot, the group has had a fluctuating membership over the years, but they have maintained a fairly loyal following. – Wiki