PHAROAH SANDERS- VILLAGE OF THE PHAROAHS-LP- SPIRITUAL JAZZ

PHAROAH SANDERS ft. SEDATRIUS BROWN- VILLAGE OF THE PHAROAHS- LP- IMPULSE RECORDS- 1973
Impulse Records is home to some of my favorite jazz LPs of the 1960s and 70s, right up there with CTI, Blue Note, and Black Jazz labels. Impulse is especially strong on the spiritual jazz tip (Pharoah, Alice and John Coltrane, Yusef Lateef, etc.) and this record is no exception. The 15 minute long title track "Village of the Pharoahs", which actually broken up into 3 parts on the album but plays seamlessly, is spiritual-free jazz at it's best. All types of saxophone soloing from Pharoah, backed by a loose, funky rhythm section featuring some very exotic percussion instruments and well as the standard acoustic bass and grand piano. The track has a distinctly Southern Asian/Middle Eastern feel to it especially as Kylo Kylo (that's the musician's name) drops in with the tambura throughout the track. I could talk all day about the title track alone, much less the rest of the album, but it's probably best to check it out for yourself.

Get it here

80's Fusion Jazz: JAMES DALLAS- LIFE FORMS- LP

JAMES DALLAS- LIFE FORMS- LP- PRIVATE PRESS- 1982
Admittedly, it took me a while begin checking for jazz records from the 1980s. The sound is usually very different from classic jazz of the 50's and 60's and even the jazz-funk sound of 70's Blue Note and Mizell Bros. production that is beloved in the beat digging world. Sure there's some legitimately trash 80s jazz (see G., Kenny) but there's a ton of dope jazz material, especially in the more "underground" world of private pressings.
The James Dallas LP, recorded and pressed in my hometown Milwaukee, WI, is one such very dope jazz/funk/modern soul LP. I was put onto it at Lotus Land Records in Milwaukee and was not disapointed. The record has a good combination of tracks for DJ's, such as the title reack, and producers, such as "Sidetrack" and "Stormy".
Buy an OG copy here
Get the music here
James Dallas' Myspace Page