Friday, December 14, 2012

NEW RELEASES - BLACK RIO, RON TRENT, BOBBI HUMPHREY

BLACK RIO - BRAZIL SOUL POWER 1971-1980 (VARIOUS ARTISTS)

A limited new pressing of this sought-after Strut LP from 2002, compiled by Batmacumba's DJ Cliffy and celebrating the 'Black Rio' movement of the 1970s. Tailing out from the Tropicalia movement, Black Rio initially took shape as sound systems began to champion the empowering soul of James Brown during the country's long-running military dictatorship. While homegrown artists like Gershon King and Uniao Black stayed faithful to the US funk formula, others created strident Afro-Brazilian fusions of many shapes - Banda Black Rio's effortless samba jazz funk classic 'Gafieira Universal', Trio Mocoto's chanted 'Nago' and Jorge Ben's 'Comanche' from his classic Afro-Brazilian LP 'Negro e Lindo' are all featured here. This fresh reissue is fully remastered as a 2LP gatefold featuring original sleeve notes, rare photos and original flyer artwork. The first 100 copies will be made available on 180g heavyweight vinyl. All copies will feature the remastered CD version of the album within the package. ~ Strut Records

RON TRENT - RAW FOOTAGE

Strong and rawly percussion sounds from Chicago legend Ron Trent! Ron has way of carrying the torch for classic club soul soundscapes – the kinds that he helped pioneer – and all the while continues to evolve and innovate. It's a pretty tricky balancing act, yet he gets across each time out! Raw Footage has some pretty insistent, African percussion-inspired beatscraft paired with spacey keys and some hypnotic bits of vocal. Includes "Message To The World", "Sundance", "Electric Blue", "Pressure Zone", "Exotic Drums", "Her", "Atmoshere", "Sweetness", "Space Dance", "Blood And Fire" and more. ~ Dusty Groove


BOBBI HUMPHREY - DIG THIS!

A stone killer from funky flute player Bobbi Humphrey – one of her early albums for Blue Note Records, and a set that's a perfect summation of the best sides of her talents! The album's got a slightly different feel than Bobbi's work with Larry Mizell – yet still sports a similar approach that blends her amazingly spiritual flute lines with rich larger backings – in this case arranged by Horace Ott, Alphonse Mouzon, and Wade Marcus, in a sublime blend of electric jazz and soaring strings – all with a feel that's almost like some lost blacksploitation soundtrack! Given the lady's strength on her instrument, and her sharp sound on her solos, the record's got a focus and righteousness that takes it way past most contemporary efforts of this nature – a bold testament to the qualities that have made Bobbi one of our favorite players on flute for many many years. The set also features some wonderful Fender Rhodes – played both by Harry Whitaker and Paul Griffin – plus bass from Wilbur Bascomb, and heavy drums from Alphonse Mouzon. Titles include "Love Theme From Fuzz", "Nubian Lady", "Lonely Town Lonely Street", "Smiling Faces Sometimes", Is This All", "I Love Every Little Thing About You", "El Mundo De Maravilas", and a great version of Mouzon's "Virtue". (On the Dusty Groove label.) ~ Dusty Groove

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