NEW RELEASES - RONNIE FOSTER, BOSSA NOVA BABY, BLUEY

RONNIE FOSTER - SWEET REVIVAL

 

A funky keyboard treasure – a smoking organ and Fender Rhodes session that is one of the greatest Blue Note albums by Ronnie Foster! Foster plays organ on the set, next to electric piano by Ernie Hayes – and the pair stir up the sound wonderfully as they glide over grooves, soaring on twin keyboard lines that really make for a magical sound! A few tracks get hard and funky, and others have that superdope laidback feel that made all of Foster's early work so great – especially for the Quest-era sample crowd. The album's got some really great 70s soul covers, mixed with a few tasty originals – and titles include "Backstabbers", "Lisa's Love", "Superwoman", "Alone Again (Naturally)", "Sweet Revival", "Some Neck", "Inot", and "It's Just Gotta Be That Way". ~ Dusty Groove

 

BOSSA NOVA BABY - A SULTRY GROOVE (VARIOUS ARTISTS)

 

A sweet little collection that goes way beyond basic bossa nova – as it offers up tunes from a host of different vintages, in different styles of the genre – including some surprising gems from recent years too! Vintage material is blended nicely with cuts from Far Out and a few other current labels – and together, the tracks show the strong evolution of bossa nova into the 21st Century – way past the basic sounds at the start. There's a number of tracks on here we've never heard before – and titles include "The Girl From Ipanema" by Paula Santoro, "O Nosso Amor" by Vanja Orico, "Agua De Beber" by Xavier Osmir, "Meu Samba Torto" by Clara Moreno, "How Insensitive" by Simao Morto, "Rio Bahia" by Joyce, "Wave" by Victor Assis Brasil, "Mas Que Nada" by Rio Combo, "Dindi" by Paula Santoro with Hugh Burns, "So Danco Samba" by Gustavo Marques, and "Salve Dom" by Armando Marcal. 32 tracks on 2CDs – quite a deal! ~ Dusty Groove

 

BLUEY - LEAP OF FAITH

 

No need for a leap of faith where Bluey's concerned – as we've been loving his music with Incognito for many many years, and we're more than happy to hear the man on his own! The vibe here is every bit as soulful and righteous as the best Incognito work – but there's also a more personal sound, too – especially since Bluey's on lead vocals on every track – quite a change from before, as he often lets other singers take the lead! Turns out, Bluey's a hell of a lead singer on his own – with this warm and slightly raspy style that really fits in wonderfully with the grooves – which are heavy on Bluey's own guitar, plus keyboards and other instrumentation from Ski Oakenfull and Richard Bull. If you like Incognito as much as us, there's plenty to love here – and titles include "Stronger", "Leap Of Faith", "Sky", "Keep Myself Together", "Ain't Nobody's Business", "Got To Let My Feelings Show", and "Live Like A Millionaire".  ~ Dusty Groove