NEW RELEASES – MARLENA SHAW, COUNT BASIE, MILES BONNY

MARLENA SHAW – WHO IS THIS BITCH, ANYWAY?

A great record from the mid 70s – one that has Marlena Shaw further developing her style as a sophisticated soul diva with a sharp modern edge! Although already great in the 60s, Shaw emerges here as an all-adult, all-woman singer – dealing with issues that never would have gotten touched in the decade before, all with a directness and sensitivity that's totally great. A great example of this is the leadoff track "You Me & Ethel" – a hilarious monologue in which Marlena strings along some guy who's trying to pick her up in a bar – really holding it in until it launches into the jazz funk groover "Street Walkin' Woman"! Arrangements throughout the album shift from mellower soul to hipper jazz with ease – taking Shaw into a wide range of territory that clearly shows that no areas were off limits to an artist of her stature in the 70s! Tracks include "Feel Like Makin Love", "You", "You Been Away Too Long", and "Loving You Was Like A Party". ~ Dusty Groove

COUNT BASIE – THIS TIME BY BASIE!

Believe it or not, we totally dig Basie's work from the mid 60s! He was working with Quincy Jones at the time – and Quince laid down some very soulful arrangements that used the best jazz elements of the Basie group to turn out some great pop instrumental tracks with a very groovy sound. This album's a perfect example of that format, as it features some great Basie sidemen, grooving nicely to Quincy's hip swinging arrangements of pop material like "Walk, Don't Run", "Fly Me To The Moon", "This Could Be The Start Of Something Big", and "One Mint Julep". ~ Dusty Groove

MILES BONNY – 2011 BOOTLEGS (GREEN MARBLED VINYL)

Rare tracks from the great Miles Bonny – a sublime follow-up to his Lumberjack Soul album – and a vinyl-only, self-released package that's stuffed with rare tracks! Miles didn't give us any notes with the package – so it's a bit tough to identify the contents – but if you dig Bonny's music as much as we do, you'll hardly need any words to help draw you in – because the cosmic grooves are more than enough! Bonny's soulful vocals are mixed with great spacey beats, jazzy trumpet inflections, and a seriously righteous sensibility overall – the kind of wicked mix that's made him one of the most compelling new soul talents of the 21st Century – with a unique groove that stretches far from his KC roots! (Pressed on green marbled vinyl – and comes in a plain sleeve.) ~Dusty Groove