Soul Jazz Records Presents - London Jazz Classics - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

This album brings together some of the finest music ever released on Black Jazz Records which in it's short four-year history, between 1971 and 1975, released over 20 superlative albums which all successfully blending spiritual jazz, funk and soul jazz of the highest calibre.Similar to other independent jazz labels at the time, including Strata-East Records and Tribe Records, Black Jazz focussed on a number of key artists, most of whom first established their career during this period, and all of whom are featured here.Featuring The Awakening, Doug Carn, Walter Bishop, Chester Thompson, Kellee Patterson and more.Black Jazz Records was founded in Oakland, California, by pianist Gene Russell and percussionist Dick Schory. The tag released twenty albums between 1971 and 1975. Artists who recorded for Black Jazz Records included Cleveland Eaton (bassist for Ramsey Lewis), keyboardists Doug Carn and Chester Thompson, vocalist Kellee Patterson, saxophonist Rudolph Johnson, bassist Henry Franklin, and spiritual fusion group The Awakening. The tag was distributed and financed by Ovation Records, based in Chicago. Schory founded Ovation in 1969, shortly after leaving RCA. Schory was a Grammy-nominated percussionist who was also known for his development of the stereo recording techniques including Dynagroove and RCA Victor's Stereo Action. Schory also pioneered quadrophonic sound, and a number of Black Jazz Records were in quadrophonic and other formats such as ¼Inch tape and 8-track.Gene Russell was the creative force behind the tag, acting as producer, engineer and A&R and focussed on developing new solo artists. Black Jazz Records released 20 or so superlative albums in a four-year period, all successfully blending spiritual jazz, funk and soul jazz. This album brings together some of the finest music released by the tag in it's short four-year history, closing it's doors f

Soul Jazz Records' new album 'Kaleidoscope - New Spirits Known and Unknown' brings together many of the ground-breaking artists involved in the new jazz scene that has developed in the UK over the last few years. Featured artists include Matthew Halsall, Yazmin Lacey, Ill Considered, Tenderlonious, Theon Cross, Emma-Jean Thackray and many more. As well as sharing a pioneering spirit in these new artists' approach to frontier-crossing musical boundaries, a further theme of this album is that many also share a determination to independent practices - most of these artists recordings featured here are either self-published or released on independent labels. While the attention of this new wave of jazz artists up until now has been London-based, this album shows how this movement is spread across the whole of Britain (and indeed beyond). 'Kaleidoscope' features deep spiritual jazz, electronic experimentalisation, punk-edged funk, uplifting modal righteousness, deep soulful vocals and more.CD11. Matthew Halsall & The Gondwana Orchestra - When The World Was One (7.38)2. Yazmin Lacey - 90 Degrees (4.16)3. Hector Plimmer - Communication Control (3.04)4. Ill Considered - Long Way Home (Live At The Crypt) (8.03)5. The Expansions - Mosaic (6.58)6. Chip Wickham - Red Planet (5.44)7. Levitation Orchestra - Odyssey (9.26)8. Emma-Jean Thackray's WALRUS - Walrus (2.47)9. Tenderlonious and The 22a Arkestra - The Shakedown (6.18)10. Pokus - Pokus One (4.15)CD21. Theon Cross - Candace Of Meroe (5.48)2. Joe Armon-Jones & Maxwell Owin - Tanner's Tango (ft. Nubya Garcia) (4.48)2. Collocutor - Gozo (6.02)3. Makaya McCraven - Untitled (3.14)4. Nat Birchall - Ancient World (9.50)5. Ruby Rushton - Moonlight Woman (9.05)6. Ebi Soda - Dimmsdale (3.11)7. The Cromagnon Band - Thunder Perfect (5.12)8. SEED Ensemble - Mirrors (7.38)9. Ishmael Ensemble - Kito's Theme (4.15)10. Vels Trio - Yellow Ochr

London Jazz Classics originally came out in 1993 - the first album ever to be released on Soul Jazz Records. The album brought together rare and obscure dance tracks in a unique mix of jazz dance and fusion, funk, Brazilian and Latin grooves. // The album was ironically titled - none of the music was from London, none of the music was traditionally classified as jazz, and all of the tracks were at the time practically unknown to most people. Instead, these were tracks that were filling dancefloors in a nascent jazz dance scene in London being created by a small group of DJs - Paul Murphy, Gilles Peterson, Sylvester, Patrick Forge and a few others. // As demand for these rare groove jazz tracks grew, previously unknown records such as Alive's 'Skindo Le Le', Doug Richardson's 'Salsa Mama', Carlos Franzetti's 'Cocoa Funk' and Emilio Santiago's 'Bananeira' became sort after and even-harder-to-find items with original copies going for £100s of pounds. // These tracks became part of the soundtrack to this jazz dance scene which has now spread across the world. This music paved the way for the arrival of many of the UK's new wave of current artists such Shabaka Hutchings, Nubya Garcia and Ezra Collective who today offer a uniquely London sensibility of fusing jazz with wide-ranging cultural influences - everything from afrobeat to soul. // London Jazz Classics was the first album to bring this jazz dance music featured here to a wider audience. More than 30 years since it's initial Soul Jazz Records are releasing this new 2026 edition, bringing the music once more to a new generation of listeners. Album Tracks 1. Alive! - Skindo Le Le 2. Emilio Santiago - Bananeira 3. Carlos Franzetti - Cocoa Funk 4. The Robin Jones Seven - Atlas 5. Airto Moreira - Jump 6. Antonio Adolfo - Cascavel 7. Hannibal - Mother's Land 8. Doug Richardson - Salsa Mama