UNIVERSAL JONES- VOL. 1- LP- EUGENE MCDANIELS

UNIVERSAL JONES- VOL. 1- LP- MGM Records- 1972
When I found this record in the store and saw that Eugene McDaniels was part of the group and producer of the album I was sure that this would be a quality LP. Anyone familiar with Eugene McDaniels' hard-to-find solo work (Headless Heroes of The Apocalypse, Outlaw) knows the unique, eclectic, soul-funk-jazz-rock sound that has been tapped into by many hip-hop producers over the years. I certainly was not disappointed with the purchase. The song that really caught me first was the 10 minute long funky spiritual jazz workout "Hello To The Wind".

Hello To The Wind


Get It Here

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

Spiritual Jazz: Doug & Jean Carn- Higher Ground LP

DOUG & JEAN CARN- HIGHER GROUND- LP- OVATION RECORDS- 1976
High quality vocal spiritual jazz LP by the husband-wife duo of Doug and Jean Carn. The players on the album are a who's who of rare groove soul-funk-jazz of the time and the near future: Doug Carn on keys and vocals, Ronnie Laws on sax, Calvin Keys on guitar, Big Black on percussion, Harvey Mason (called Harold on the record cover) on drums. Jean Carn would go on to a successful career in more mainstream soul/funk, but this shows you where she and Doug were at with there music in the mid-70s. The cover of Coltrane's "Naima" is my personal favorite track on the LP.

Get it here