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“One of the label's most magnificent releases has been one of the most overlooked. It is the spiritual-jazz masterpiece First Impressions by alto saxophonist Shamek Farrah. Originally released in 1974, it has in spring 2018 been reissued in a 180-gram vinyl remastered-edition by Pure Pleasure. First Impression's relative obscurity is probably explained by the fact that most of the musicians involved, great artists though the disc reveals them to be, went on to record little and retire early from active music making. At least two of them fell foul of heroin addiction. Farrah himself recorded one more album for Strata-East, 1977's The World Of The Children, another blinder, before going off radar in the early 1980s…

…"First Impressions" is one of both spiritual jazz and funk jazz's great treasures, up there with Pharoah Sanders's "Upper Egypt & Lower Egypt" from Tauhid (Impulse, 1967) and Donald Byrd's "The Emperor" from Ethiopian Knights (Blue Note, 1972). Alongside Farrah and Suggs's input, the track is further lifted by the almost-literally magical piano playing of Sonelius Smith (who co-headlined The World Of The Children). The entire album is outstanding. But the title track alone qualifies it for a five-star rating.” – All About Jazz

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