Roy Ayers - Virgin
Ubiquity – Unreleased Recordings 1976 to 1981
It's like a
dream come true – 13 previously unissued recordings by Roy Ayers, all from the
height of his glory years on Polydor! Roy's work from this time is some of our
favorite ever – a burning blend of jazz, soul, and funk – handled with
impeccable charm, and a level of soul that few other artists of the time ever
matched. Roy's genius was strongly documented at the time by a series of
excellent Polydor albums – but there was also a heck of a lot of great material
that never saw the light of day, and which is every bit as great as the
classics that we've come to know and love over the years. Hearing this set is
incredible – like upping our already-massive appreciation of Roy's talents, and
like finding a lost corner of soul music history that nobody's ever heard
before. The tunes are all amazing – a great blend of jazzy soul, mellow soul,
and dancefloor groovers – and the package is only the tip of the iceberg, from
what we've been told! The full album does a great job to not cross over too
much with the 12" singles previously issued in this "Virgin"
series – and titles include "What's The T", "I Really Love
You", "Sugar", "Mystery Of Love", "Green &
Gold", "Brand New Feeling", "I Did It In Seattle",
"I Just Wanna Give It Up", "Together Forever", "Boogie
Down", "I Am Your Mind", and a great alternate version of
"Mystic Voyage"! ~ Dusty Groove
Roy Ayers - Virgin
Ubiquity II – Unreleased Recordings 1976 to 1981
The genius
of Roy Ayers knows no end – and as this set of unreleased work from the 70s
proves, Roy was always working at top form back in the day – even above and
beyond his classic albums from the time! The grooves here are tremendous –
funky, soulful, jazzy, and every bit as wonderful as the work that Roy did for
his classic albums on Polydor – and in a way, the whole set's even tighter and
heavier than any of Roy's full LPs, because it's a distillation of his sound
from the time, hand-picked from the vaults with an ear towards the kind of timeless
grooves that have been a huge influence on many worlds of music for years!
You've never heard any of these tunes before, but we can promise you'll love
them every bit as much as Roy's tracks on albums like Coffy, Vibrations, Mystic
Voyage, and other classics – and the quality of the set only further pushes our
jaw-dropping respect for the man! Titles include "Holiday",
"Kwajilori", "I Am Your Mind (part 2)", "Touch Of
Class", "Third Time", "Come To Me", "Wide
Open", "Funk In The Hole", "Liquid Love", "Tarzan",
"Sunshine (demo)", and "I Like The Way You Do It To Me". ~
Dusty Groove
Joe McPhee,
Dave Rempis, Tomeka Reid, Brandon Lopez, & Paal Nilssen-Love - Of Things
Beyond Thule Vol 1 (180 gram vinyl)
The title's
a reference to place once referenced by Edgar Allan Poe – but the music is very
firmly grounded in reality, and comes from an improvised performance in Chicago
by this very all-star ensemble! The album features one long track –
"Quaanaq" – served up with really creative interplay between a quintet
that features Joe McPhee on tenor and pocket trumpet, Dave Rempis on alto and
baritone, Tomeka Reid on cello, Brandon Lopez on bass, and Paal Nilssen-Love on
drums – all coming together in the best tradition of Windy City free jazz
players working with key out of town talent! The blend of bass and cello at the
heart of the music is really wonderful, and Paal makes sure to only step
forward boldly when McPhee and Rempis are ready to let loose themselves – and
the trio really balance the power of their expressions to make sure that Reid
and Lopez get a chance to shape some more sensitive moments. ~ Dusty Groove
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