Monday, June 19, 2017

NEW MUSIC RELEASES: HARVEY MASON – SHO NUFF GROOVIN’ YOU: THE ARISTA RECORDS ANTHOLOGY 1975-1981; JAY KING – HELEN’S SON; URBANITY –URBAN SOUL

HARVEY MASON – SHO NUFF GROOVIN’ YOU: THE ARISTA RECORDS ANTHOLOGY 1975-1981

Sho nuff grooves from the great Harvey Mason – a jazz drummer at heart, but one whose talents also exploded into the realm of funk and soul in the second half of the 70s! Mason was part of a big generation of jazzmen who moved into soul – drummers like Billy Cobham and Norman Connors, or other talents like Roy Ayers and Wayne Henderson – all of whom we'd use as a comparison to Harvey's excellent work on this collection! With his own drums at the core, Mason was able to open things up in so many ways – inviting in some of the cream of the crop of the fusion scene to work on his records – and also working with top-shelf vocalists like Merry Clayton or Randy Crawford, although Harvey also delivered some great vocals of his own! The 2CD set brings together the best cuts from Harvey's years at Arista Records – a great run of albums that sound even better here, condensed into a 33 track offering that also includes some 12" mixes and unusual moments. Titles include "Groovin You (12" mix)", "Here Today Gone Tomorrow", "First Summer", "Modaji", "Marching In The Street", "KY & The Cur", "Wild Rice", "Wave", "The Mase", "We Can Start Tonight", "Till You Take My Love", "On & On", "Space Cadets", "Sho Nuff Groove", "Universal Rhyme", "Funk In A Mason Jar", "Never Give You Up", "Say It Again", "When I'm With You (live)", "What's Going On", "Earthmover Prelude", "Bertha Baptist", "Ballad For Heather", "Set It Free", and "Going Through The Motions".  ~ Dusty Groove

JAY KING – HELEN’S SON 

Jay King's had quite a career in soul music – some of it back in the 80s, through his work with Club Nouveau – and lots of it behind the scenes, as a writer, producer, and greater creative force in the business! Yet standing up front here on his own, Jay's maybe in his greatest position ever – really turning into a great mellow soul singer in his later years, and serving up a set of original tracks that should have been classics! Production is tight, but never slick – and there's often some strong use of saxophone next to King's voice – which has a raspy charm as it flows out over the keyboards, on titles that include "Good Kinda Lovin", "Runnin", "Trying To Get You Back", "I'm Where You Belong", "The One", and "Take My Breath Away". CD also features two bonus tracks – "Runnin (Boogie Back radio)" and "Runnin (Boogie Back extended)".  ~ Dusty Groove

URBANITY –URBAN SOUL

The collaboration between Albare and Phil Turcio started 27 years ago when Albert Dadon – aka Albare – was looking for a new pianist for his band. At the time Phil had just turned 18. Albare recalls: “He was not even the youngest member of the band then; our drummer just turned 17. These guys sounded so good, it was a pleasure already to play with them.” Phil explains that he and Albare hear music in the same way: “Everything I throw at Albare comes back as if I would have played it myself.” From beginning to end, listeners will hear the duo’s innate instincts, the perfect partnership, the gorgeous groove of two friends making music. “We love jazz, but not in the traditional sense,” says Albare. “I think that Jazz of the 21st Century is all encompassing. There are no limits.” That thought is evident as Albare and Phil Turcio come together as Urbanity.


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