Strut present the definitive edition of Sun Ra’s classic ‘Lanquidity’ album from 1978 with brand new 4LP box set and 2CD editions, featuring the widely distributed version of the album alongside alternative mixes by Bob Blank originally released in limited quantities for a 1978 Arkestra gig at Georgia Tech. Both versions of the album are cut loud at 45 rpm over 2LPs each.

20 Original albums on 10 CDs! King Curtis, Illinois Jacquet, Gene Ammons, Shirley Scott, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Roland Kirk and more!
The tenor sax was to Rhythm & Blues-hits of the 40s and 50s, what the guitar went on to become to RocknRoll. Put on an R&B-single from that era and you will most likely hear a tenor sax break or solo. Eventually, the tenor players stepped out to make records under their own name. These Soul Tenors were expressing themselves by honkin, shoutin, riffin, riding high on a single note or barking out a guttural howl, as Ted Gioia described it in The History of Jazz, all the while, carrying the moan in their tone, according to Cannonball Adderley…

Vibe’s Maestro Khan Jamal’s “Infinity” features a Stellar line up, a drums and percussion-rich sextet that features altoist Byard Lancaster and a Philadelphia-based rhythm section, Clifton Burton on harmonica and the legendary free drummer Sunny Murray. Khan Jamal contributed four of the five songs, while pianist Bernard Sammul brought in a cooking "The Angry Young Man."

Shirley Scott - Queen of the Organ (1964) {Impulse! GRD-123 rel 1993}
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© 1964, 1993 Impulse! / MCA / GRP | GRD-123
Jazz / Hard Bop / Soul Jazz / Organ

This CD reissue brings back all of the music previously put out on the two-LP set The Great Live Sessions with the exception of one number ("Shirley's Shuffle") left out due to lack of space; with over 70 minutes of music, one cannot complain too much about the omission. Overall, this is a pretty definitive live set featuring organist Shirley Scott, tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine, bassist Bob Cranshaw and drummer Otis "Candy" Finch, one of the great soul-jazz combos of the 1960s.

Leon Thomas & Oliver Nelson - In Berlin (1970) {RCA Victor 09026638772 rel 2002}
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© 1970, 2002 Flying Dutchman / Bluebird / RCA Victor / BMG | 09026638772
Jazz / Post Bop / Afro-Cuban Jazz / Soul Jazz

"Leon Thomas in Berlin" is an excellent example of the work of this almost forgotten vocalist. Thomas was very much a maverick in terms of his singing style, his use of the yodel and other effects turned his voice very much into another frontline musical instrument in much the same manner as scat was used by earlier singers . The lasting impression given by this is of a highly Afro - American form of the idiom which was much in fashion in the late 60's and early 70's. In many ways it is a great pity that this vibrant music has fallen so far from grace to be replaced by the mainstream conservatism that is so omni-present in a great deal of the performances which define Jazz at the present time.

Sonny Stitt & Don Patterson - Legends Of Acid Jazz Vol 2 (1968) {Prestige 00025218521024 rel 2006}
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© 1968, 2006 Prestige Records / Fantasy / Universal | 00025218521024
Jazz / Bop / Soul Jazz / Organ / Saxophone

Two-fer CD reissue combines two 1968 sessions, both featuring Stitt and Patterson, that were recorded on consecutive days (September 23-24, 1968), although one was issued under Patterson's name and the other under Stitt's. The first six songs were issued as the Patterson LP Funk You!, on which Patterson leads a date that also has Sonny Stitt and Charles McPherson on saxes and Pat Martino on guitar. The other players get about as much space as Patterson, and as 1960s jazz with organ goes, this is pretty straight-ahead and boppish, rather than soul-jazz (as so much organ jazz from that decade was).

Big John Patton - This One's For Ja (1996) {DIW Records Japan DIW-919 rec 1995}
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© 1996 DIW Records Japan | DIW-919
Jazz / Soul Jazz / Hard Bop / Organ Hammond B-3

On the third album of his '90s comeback, Big John Patton chooses to create a relaxed vibe, smoothly grooving through a surprising choice of material. Most of the record consists of challenging songs like Coltrane's "Syeeda's Song Flute" and Grachan Moncur III's "Sonny's Back," which gives Patton – as well as his supporting band, featuring guitarist Ed Cherry and tenor saxophonist Dave Hubbard – the chance to create intricate yet accessible music. This is music that can be heard as simply a good groove yet it rewards careful listening. This One's for J.A. again confirms that Patton has made one of the rare comebacks in jazz, one that does justice to his earlier work.

This 1998 CD reissues keyboardist Patrice Rushen's first two recordings as a leader except for one selection ("Puttered Bopcorn") from the first date that was left out due to lack of space. Twenty at the time of the earlier set, Rushen showed a great deal of potential for the future, potential that (at least in the jazz world) was unfortunately never realized. Rushen is heard on the Prelusion album heading a septet that includes tenor-saxophonist Joe Henderson (the most memorable soloist), trumpeter Oscar Brashear, trombonist George Bohanon and Hadley Caliman on reeds; the music is essentially advanced hard bop with touches of fusion. The later date has a similar group (without Henderson) and with guest spots for flutist Hubert Laws and guitarist Lee Ritenour. The R&B-ish vocal by Josie James on "What's the Story" hints at where Rushen would be going in the future: straight to the pop market. So overall this CD, which should have served as a bright beginning for the young keyboardist, is practically the artistic high point of Patrice Rushen's erratic career.

There's early work with Eric Dolphy and McCoy Tyner in Charles Mingus' Jazz Workshop, work with Max Roach and Abbey Lincoln, a stint in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, and also one with Miles. There's his groundbreaking and highly influential Ntu Troop albums of the early 70s and his jazz-funk work including two classic albums with the Mizell Brothers, one of which supplied A Tribe Called Quest with a sample that was smooth like butter. That's not to mention appearances on beloved albums by Pharoah Sanders, Donald Byrd, Norman Connors, Roy Ayers, Gene Ammons, Phyllis Hyman, Jackie McLean and many others. This is what Gary Bartz brings to the Jazz Is Dead project and as can be expected, his questing spirit fits the JID style like a glove and has produced an album that's a cutting-edge addition to his immense canon as he effortlessly interfaces with a new generation.

Doug's newest project, his entry in the Jazz Is Dead album series helmed by Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad, takes his unique and timeless art and places it within the context of a musical culture that has always taken cues from his 70s classics. There's no mistaking the musical mind that created legendary albums like Infant Eyes and Adam's Apple, but the encounter of that with the distinctive jazz-hip hop-funk-noir that is the Younge/Muhammad/JID trademark creates something worthy of comparison to Carn's past work but which could only have been made right now. One can detect nods to musical motifs by Carn's jazz peers that have served as frequent sample fodder, but his compositional and improvisational integrity remain indisputable throughout.

In February 2018, Roy Ayers performed four sold out shows in Los Angeles as part of the Jazz Is Dead Black History Month series. It wasn’t until 2020 that fans of Ayers discovered that in addition to those shows, the legendary vibraphone player had also recorded an entire album of new material with Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad.

Over the last 12 months, Adrian Younge and A Tribe Called Quest member Ali Shaheed Muhammad have been inviting some legendary musicians to swing by the former’s Los Angeles studio to make fresh tracks with vintage equipment. The results are detailed on “Jazz Is Dead”, a superb album that combines elements of dusty soundtrack jazz, soul, jazz-funk, Latin jazz and head-nodding live beats influenced by the duo’s hip-hop roots. Highlights include the atmospheric, slow-motion warmth of Roy Ayers collaboration “Hey Lover”, the floor-rocking fusion heaviness of epic Azymuth hook-up “Apocaliptico”, the languid sweetness of ‘Down Deep” (featuring Doug Carn) and the samba-soaked sunshine that is Marcos Valle composition “Nao Saia Da Praca”.

Pucho and his Latin Soul Brothers - Groovin' High (1997) {Cannonball Records CBD 27103}
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© 1997 Cannonball Records | CBD 27103
Jazz / Jazz Funk / Latin Jazz / Soul Jazz / Groove

If anyone has successfully bridged the gap between Latin jazz and soul-jazz, it's Pucho, whose very accessible blend of hard bop, R&B and Afro-Cuban music took its share of knocks from jazz critics but was consistently swinging and could always liven up a party. The New York percussionist was 59 when Groovin' High came out on the small Cannonball label in 1997, but except for some experiments with rap, the CD isn't much different from his Prestige dates of the 1960s and early 1970s.

Oliver Nelson - Skull Session (1975) {Flying Dutchman–BMG 74321887132 rel 2002}
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© 1975, 2002 Flying Dutchman / RCA Victor / BMG | 74321887132
Jazz / Jazz Funk / Soul Jazz / Post Bop

Anyone, who has been fortunate enough to play in a band that uses Oliver Nelson arrangements, will vouch for how clever and musical they are. On this session he was asked to include electronic instruments and incorporate the rhythms they are often associated with them. This has been attempted before and usually results in the most horrible ‘hodgepodge’ of sounds that please no one. Oliver Nelson however succeeds in incorporating the newer instruments without detracting in any way from the normal quality of his work. This is a very good album; every track is an original composition with a strong melody line and an imaginative arrangement.

With his instrumental hit "Honky Tonk" in February 1956, Bill Doggett (born William Ballard Doggett) created one of rock's greatest instrumental tracks. Although it generated scores of offers to perform in rock & roll clubs throughout the United States, Doggett remained tied to the jazz and organ-based R&B that he had performed since the 1930s. Continuing to record for the Cincinnati-based King label until 1960, he went on to record for Warner Brothers, Columbia, ABC-Paramount and Sue. His last session came as a member and producer of an all-star jazz/R&B group, Bluesiana Hurricane in 1995.
This record is an opportunity to hear not only Bill Doggett on the organ and piano, but also the excellent Bubba Brooks on tenor sax, the guitarist Pete Mayes and the rarely heard singer Toni Williams.