GEORGE DUKE- A BRAZILIAN LOVE AFFAIR- LP: SUMMER MUSIC

GEORGE DUKE- A BRAZILIAN LOVE AFFAIR- LP- EPIC RECORDS- 1979
For the second straight day it's been 50 degrees plus in the Twin Cities, which for mid-March is a miracle, or a sure sign of global warming, depending on how you look at it. Anyways, the weather's got me thinking 'bout spring and summer and few tunes say "warm weather" like George Duke's brilliant "Brazilian Love Affair" off of this LP. George Duke's use of Brazilian percussion, (maned by the legendary percussionist Airto) guitars, and vocal harmonies, as well as his standard synth experimentation, give this joint a unique sound that makes you feel like you're at the beach in Rio, or at least somewhere warm. The LP features a great cast of Brazilian musicians who help create great jazz/funk/soul/Brazilian fusion, including Flora Purim, Raul De Souza, Milton Nascimento and the aforementioned Airto. Enjoy the song and the warm weather, those of you in MN.

A BRAZILIAN LOVE AFFAIR

BLUE EYED SOUL: ANDREW LEWIS BAND-THE BLUE ALBUM

ANDREW LEWIS BAND-THE BLUE ALBUM- LP- RICHMOND RECORDS- 1977
I found this record in the jazz section in a local record spot and threw it on the turntable expecting late-70's fusiony jazz/funk/rock. But I was surprised to hear more straight up soul/funk type tunes, certainly with a jazz/rock influence (hey it's an all white band with one brother on vocals) but definitely not the crazy fusion sound I was expecting. I wanted to post the whole LP up here, but upon further listening there were a couple of skips on my copy, so I picked my two favorite joints on here to share instead. "Midnite Man" is a very dope horn-heavy with some potential sample moments, while "A New Day" is a slice of some real nice mellow soul. And if anybody has a cleaner copy they'd like to share with me, please let me know (oduckworth@gmail.com).

"MIDNITE MAN"

"A NEW DAY"

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