Jazz/funk Lp Hidden Gems

[Dave Thorley]

Here a chance to dig through your old jazz/funk lp's and pull out those hidden soul gems. Back in the day when The Mecca made it's major shift to jazz/funk, many dismissed it all as disco dross, but some great LP tracks where played and then forgotten.

So any for any

[Garethx]

A good topic, Dave. Haven't got the facility to post soundfiles but a few off the top of my head would be:

Charles Earland & Odyssey "Drifting" from The Great Pyramid (Mercury) although this is on a 12" single as well.

Charles Earland & Odyssey "Shining Bright" from Revelation (Mercury)

The above two Charles Earland tracks feature the vocals of The Sound Experience's Arthur Grant and are both wonderful soul cuts: Drifting is uptempo, while Shining Bright is maybe the greatest stepper of them all.

Pharoah Sanders featuring Phyllis Hyman "Love Is Here" from Love Will Find A Way (Arista)

A beautifully profound ballad and for me Phyllis Hyman's best ever record.

Melvin Sparks "Get Ya Some" from Melvin Sparks 75 (Westbound)

A pounding but cool soul instrumental as opposed to a 'jazz funk' track. This album also features two great vocals from Detroit's Jimmy Scott.

I should also mention Coke Escovedo's "I Wouldn't Change A Thing" from Comin' At Ya (Mercury), which might be old hat to many, but is pretty much the definitive example of a soul anthem on a Jazz Funk lp. I think this track is overdue a journey onto the mainstream Northern scene, where I'm sure it has the potential to be very popular.

[boba]

A good topic, Dave. Haven't got the facility to post soundfiles but a few off the top of my head would be:

Charles Earland & Odyssey "Drifting" from The Great Pyramid (Mercury) although this is on a 12" single as well.

Charles Earland & Odyssey "Shining Bright" from Revelation (Mercury)

The above two Charles Earland tracks feature the vocals of The Sound Experience's Arthur Grant and are both wonderful soul cuts: Drifting is uptempo, while Shining Bright is maybe the greatest stepper of them all.

Pharoah Sanders featuring Phyllis Hyman "Love Is Here" from Love Will Find A Way (Arista)

A beautifully profound ballad and for me Phyllis Hyman's best ever record.

Melvin Sparks "Get Ya Some" from Melvin Sparks 75 (Westbound)

A pounding but cool soul instrumental as opposed to a 'jazz funk' track. This album also features two great vocals from Detroit's Jimmy Scott.

I should also mention Coke Escovedo's "I Wouldn't Change A Thing" from Comin' At Ya (Mercury), which might be old hat to many, but is pretty much the definitive example of a soul anthem on a Jazz Funk lp. I think this track is overdue a journey onto the mainstream Northern scene, where I'm sure it has the potential to be very popular.

I recently heard weldon irvine "morning sunrise" (which is a jay-z sample and apparently also covered by lenny white and twennynine) and I thought it was a nice group soul cut actually.