The Staple
Singers - Come Go With Me – The Stax Collection (Soul Folk In Action / We'll
Get Over / Staple Swingers / Be Altitude / Be What You Are / City In The Sky / rarities)
(7LP set)
Legendary
sounds from the Staple Singers – a set of albums for Stax Records that really
helped push the group from the gospel folk underground into the soul music
mainstream – and which also helped transform the rest of the scene in the
process! The Staple Singers had recorded previously for Vee Jay, Epic, and
other labels – but when the group hit Stax, at a time when the label was newly
set free in the late 60s, the mix of forces really turned out to create
something special – message-oriented soul music that drew on the strength of
the group's gospel experience, but delivered themes that were every bit as
righteous from a secular perspective too – all set to music from the great
studio forces who were making Stax so wonderful at the time! This set features
six full albums, all from the original tapes – Soul Folk In Action, We'll Get
Over, Staple Swingers, Be Altitude Respect Yourself, Be What You Are, and City
In The Sky – plus a special Singles Live & More album of bonus tracks!
Bonus tracks include "Stay With Us", "Brand New Day",
"Walking In Water Over Your Head", "I Got To Be Myself",
"Oh La De Da", and "Trippin On Your Love" – plus Live At
Wattstax recordings of "I'll Take You There", "Respect
Yourself", "Heavy Makes You Happy", "Are You Sure",
and "I Like The Things About Me". Comes in a heavy box, with all
original album sleeves, and 180 gram vinyl! ~ Dusty Groove
Connie Han - Iron Starlet
With the
release of her 2018 Mack Avenue Music Group debut, Crime Zone,
pianist/keyboardist Connie Han seized the attention of the jazz world and
firmly established herself as a fast-rising star on the scene. That
stratospheric ascent continues on her captivating follow-up, Iron Starlet, due
out April 10, 2020. As the title makes vividly clear, Han's career may be in
the early stages of what promises to be a vertiginous climb, but the 23-year
old is no wide-eyed aspirant, timidly searching for her place in the crowded
jazz landscape. One listen to Iron Starlet is ample evidence that she's every
bit an armor-clad talent as the name implies. Her powerful vision takes in the
full evolution of her forebearers, from iconic innovators like McCoy Tyner and
Hank Jones through the Young Lion revolution spearheaded by the Marsalis
Brothers, Kenny Kirkland and Jeff "Tain" Watts, among others.
"The intention of this music is to continue a legacy of tough, primal, raw
but still intellectually engaging straight-ahead jazz," Han declares.
"I am an aspiring star in this music, but I am not a naïve, uncertain girl
that people wrongly associate with that term."
Julia Biel - Black And White Vol. 1
An
award-winning original artist - singer, songwriter, piano player, producer,
guitarist - whose neo mellow sound combines an indie jazz approach with art-pop
sensibilities, it's Julia Biel's voice and piano playing that feature on her 4th
album. 'Black and White, Volume 1' is a solo recording that comments on the
binary concepts of 'black' and 'white' in what she feels should by now be a
post-'racial' world. Using just the black and white keys of the piano and her
mixed 'black' and 'white' heritage, the British-born dual British/German
national with South African roots seeks to reach beyond the polarising concept
of division along skin colour lines, to remind the listener of and to confront
them with their own emotions - to take these two colours and transform them
into a landscape of sonic colour in the process. "Because on the level of
shared emotion is where everyone connects," says Julia. "Skin colour,
background, political persuasion or any other societal construct should have no
bearing on our ability to empathise with each other nor should these things be
allowed to deny someone their right to expressing anything less than the full
spectrum of human emotion." Recorded in her own studio, produced by
long-term partner Idris Rahman and mixed by Emre Ramazanoglu, the result is a
set of intimate and raw solo recordings rendered spell-binding in large part
due to hers being a voice like no other. Unhurried and unmistakeable, her
unique tones wrap around deceptively simple songs dealing with confusion, pain,
insecurity, joy and the power of words and love to uplift us but also to
constrain us. All are imbued with her trademark poetic storytelling, revealing
an ever-sharper perspective on life and love with repeated listens.
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