IT'S A GROOVY THING!: THE AMAZING JAZZ FUNK ORGAN SOUND VOL. 1 (VARIOUS ARTISTS)
Fantastic sounds from the Italian scene – work from the
ultra-rich catalog of Irma Records, pulled from a time when the label was one
of the hippest things going in the world of funky jazz! Back in the mid 90s,
Irma switched from a house-focused imprint to step back into the world of the
60s and 70s – and was the first imprint to really show us how much untapped
talent there was on the Italian scene of the time – the kind of music that
would later gain global fame in the hands of Nicola Conte and Schema Records,
but which here is much more stripped-down, and at a funky jazz core. As you can
guess by the title, the set is heavy on Hammond – plus other sweet keys too –
and titles include "Focus On Sight" and "Electric Boogaloo"
by Modulo 5, "Bullit" and "Lo Bianco Theme" by Sam Paglia,
"Summertime and "Need Your Funk" by Soul Jazz Unit, "Ass
Enchilada" and "Move On Up" by Hammond Express, "The
Amplifier" by Low Fidelity Jet Set Orchestra, "Lady" by Gazzara,
"The Howel" by Capiozzo & Mecco, and "Another B" by
Montefiori Cocktail. ~ Dusty
Groove.
GAZZARA - PORTRAIT IN ACID JAZZ
Great sounds from Francesco Gazzara – a keyboardist who's
given us plenty of wonderful music over the years, and who here is very much
back in the classic groove that first got him started! Yet despite the title,
this isn't a set of warmed-over 90s acid jazz modes – and instead shows a
matured Gazzara really working his best on a host of different keyboard modes –
Hammond B3, Fender Rhodes, and even a bit of grand piano – set up in a core
trio with bass and drums, and augmented by a bit of guitars and other
instrumentation from the man himself! Three tracks feature female singers, and
Gazzara himself speaks and vocalizes a bit – in this really great way that
brings an additional layer of life to the music. Titles include "Jazzid Wonderland",
"Heaven", "We Had A Ball", "Sanita", "Into
The Night", "Portuguese Soul", "Galactic Cowboys", and
"Sunday At Six" ~ Dusty Groove.
IT'S A GROOVY THING!: THE AMAZING JAZZ FUNK GUITAR SOUND VOL. 2 (VARIOUS ARTISTS)
A collection with a classic-looking cover, and some
classic-styled instrumentals as well – even though most of this music is only
about a decade old! The set brings together a sweet batch of guitar-driven
numbers from the Irma Records catalog – an imprint that we can always trust to
serve up the kind of lean, soulful sounds that hearken back to the best soul jazz
modes of the 60s and 70s – and most of these tracks are small combo grooves
that follow from the spirit of Prestige Records in the 60s, or maybe early CTI
in the 70s – occasionally with some vocals, most mostly instrumental on just
about every track. There's a few more contemporary elements in the rhythms from
time to time, but the guitar solos are always nice and live – and titles
include "Nel Nome Del Suono" by Jestofunk, "Sad Like A
Pierrot" by Mr Wolf, "Scotty Groove" by Piero Masciarelli,
"Red Baron" by Soul Jazz Unit, "Cool Affair" by Black &
Brown, "Be Bop Dance" by Piero Masciarelli, "FT" by
Capiozzo Mecco & Santimone, "Funka Fuzz" by Mysterious Traveller,
and "N577548" by Adriano Maria. ~ Dusty Groove
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