NEW RELEASES: ETTA JAMES Sings Funk; BILLY STEWART - I Do Love You; ROY HAYNES - Hip Ensemble

ETTA JAMES - SINGS FUNK

Etta James has sung plenty of styles over the years – R&B in the 50s, soul in the 60s, even a touch of jazz during her years at Chess – but this smoking set has Etta singing funk in a mighty bold way – turning her hard soul style towards some super-sharp grooves! The album's a treasure in the best funky blues tradition of late 60s Chess work by artists like Muddy Waters or Howlin Wolf – and the session was unusually recorded in LA, with arrangements by Gene Barge and Rene Hall – who balance out the sound nicely. Etta's vocals are right up top the whole way through – and there's a few mellower ballads that have a hard-burning, deep soul feel. Titles include "The Man I Love", "Sound Of Love", "Nothing From Nothing Leaves Nothing", "Your Replacement", and "Tighten Up Your Own Thing".  ~ Dusty Groove

BILLY STEWART - I DO LOVE YOU

There's nobody like Billy Stewart at all – one of the first big overweight lovers in soul music, and still one of the best – and a godlike talent who was blessed with a voice that can still send us into raptures so many years later! Billy passed way to early to leave his mark in the wider annals of soul – but a record like this is more than enough of a legacy – as it's filled with just the sort of tunes that made Stewart so unique – especially the kind of slow-stepping ballads that still managed to come off with a really hard edge. The vocals are sublime – with the same reach as in his "Summertime" hit, but turned towards some more personal original material – including classics like "Sitting In The Park", "I Do Love You", "Fat Boy", "Fat Boy Can Cry", and "Strange Feeling". A treasure!  ~ Dusty Groove

ROY HAYNES - HIP ENSEMBLE

Drummer Roy Haynes works here with an ensemble that's definitely as hip as the title promises – a really righteous group that makes the album one of Roy's most spiritual records ever! Haynes was always a drummer who was really a cut above, even back at the start – but here, he really steps out strongly with a new musical vision for the 70s – working with a lineup that includes George Adams on tenor and flute and Marvin Hannibal Peterson on trumpet – but players who give the music a really bold feel, right from the start! The rest of the lineup is wonderful, too – as Carl Schroeder plays Fender Rhodes with this flowing vibe that's plenty soulful – alongside bass from Terud Nakamura and Mervin Bronson, conga from Lawrence Kilian, bongo from Elwood Johnson, and more drums from Haynes himself. Titles include a sublime reading of Stanley Cowell's "Equipoise" – plus "Tangiers", "You Name It", and "Satan's Mysterious Feeling". ~ Dusty Groove