Essential Funk, Soul, and Jazz grooves finally unearthed<\/p>\n
Highly regarded lost classics \u2014 never reissued until now.<\/p>\n
At last, here they are in all their Funky glory!<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Citation – \u00abInspiration of My Life\u00bb <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Led by Nate Jones, Citation was a vocal group from Highland Park, on the outskirts of Detroit, Michigan, that recorded two seven-inches on the seventies. Sean Brown, Terence Forsyth, Clayton Hooker and Walter Jones were the other voices of this band that gave us the highly collectable \u201cInspiration of live\u201d, pressed 1977, by Red Line Records, the small independent that also unveiled North by Northeast’s \u201cDisco unusual\u201d. <\/p>\n
A superb midtempo Harmony Soul stepper that gives you goosebumps every time is played. <\/p>\n
__________ <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Cho-Ko \u00abTried and Cried\u00bb <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
There\u00b4s almost no clues about Cho-Ko. <\/p>\n
It seems the band must have been active on the early eighties on Waterford, a small town on the outskirts of Detroit, Michigan. <\/p>\n
They only recorded one single, in 1982, which also is the sole edition of Alternating Current, a label they must have created to put it on the market. <\/p>\n
Once again, \u201cTried and cried\u201d is a b side and the only reason for this elusive seven-inch to be on the wantlists of most of Modern Soul collectors. <\/p>\n
__________ <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The Aferton Project -\u00abNowhere\u00bb <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Dave Hoffman, Tom Deglman, Mark Janas, Boe Perry, Ken White, Kevin McGlennon and the great jazzy voice of Jill Kennedy were the core members of The Aferton Project, but also of Aferton Records, a small label from Springfield, Illinois. <\/p>\n
Created by Hoffman as an output of Deglman’s Drc Studio, the two LPs and nine singles released by Aferton Records, being Prog or Jazz Rock, AOR, Soul or Funk, credited to Satchitananda, The Force or Boe Perry, are all linked to these musicians. <\/p>\n
\u201cNowhere\u201d came out as a seven-inch in 1978 and was used as the opening track of \u201cThe Aferton Project Volume One\u201d, the band’s double LP release one year later, and it’s the masterpiece signed by the collective. <\/p>\n
A beautiful slice of \u201cBlue-Eyed Jazzy Modern Soul\u201d, with masterful musicianship, amazing arrangements, sublime vocals and a sharp use of the synth, that’s perfect for the most discerning dancefloors. <\/p>\n
__________ <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Ice-O-Matic – \u00abBein’ Nice\u00bb <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Conrad Johnson, Charlie Sporck, Eddie Dodds, Rooty Van Overen, Alvin Reed and Windfield Scott formed Ice-O-Matic, in Monterey, California, at the end of the seventies. <\/p>\n
Trying to break through, the band booked a session at the Super Sound Studios, a local institution where The Beach Boys registered some records in 1978. <\/p>\n
The two songs recorded there would be self-released on a seven-inch, that is their only record. \u201cBein’ nice\u201d is the b side of this record, pressed by their own Cold Cut Productions, it’s a Modern Soul Masterpiece. <\/p>\n
__________ <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Coleus \u2013 \u00abWonder why\u00bb <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The only seven-inch recorded by Coleus is as much of a mystery as the band itself. The names in the credits of the label don’t add much info, even if some state that Bobby Green, one of the composers of \u201cVegetatian delight\u201d, the male Funk a-side of the record is the sax player on Webster Lewis’ band on part of the seventies. <\/p>\n
\u201cWonder why\u201d, the b female side of this record pressed by Bell Tree Productions, is a true Soul Jazz masterpiece. <\/p>\n
__________ <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Clonzo May\u2019s Sextet \u2013 \u201cYour Heaven is Too Late\u201d <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cYour Heaven Is Too Late\u00bb by Clonzo Mays’ Sextet is a soulful ballad released in 1977 on Gibraltal Records. The track was issued as a 7″ vinyl single, paired with the B-side \u00abWe Are Naturally High\u00bb . This release has become a sought-after item among collectors of rare soul and funk music. <\/p>\n
__________ <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Oasis II Oasis \u2013 \u201cI miss you\u201d <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cI miss you\u201d It’s the only thing Oasis II have done, the only thing RePete Records launched, the song Elvester Hobdy had written and the only record Lepoleon Peterson and Lonnie Reaser ever produced. <\/p>\n
\u201cI miss you\u201d is the B-side of this rare and collectable seven-inch, pressed in 1979 at Deltron Record Pressing in Lafayette, Tennessee, and it’s a fabulous Soul ballad comp’d for the first time in this exclusive collective. <\/p>\n
__________ <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Arejay \u2013 \u201cKansas City Girl\u201d <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Arejay is an alias of Robert James, a brother of Larry James, the leader of Fat Larry’s Band. <\/p>\n
Unlike his brother, Arejay had a very successful career: with his band, but also playing with the legendary Delfonics, The Blue Magic or even as a manager of Slick, Robert only recorded this rare and collectable record, pressed on a seven-inch and on an almost impossible to get twelve-inch, that had only 100 copies. <\/p>\n
\u201cKansas city girl\u201d is the b side of this pearl recorded in 1983, at Hitman Studios in Hollywood, California. A supreme stepper that assured this Philly born singer a cult status amongst the connoisseurs in the Soul community. <\/p>\n
__________ <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
M & M Co. – Devoted to you <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Very little is known about Carl McIntyre, Sam Moncivaiz and their M & M Co. project. <\/p>\n
We know they were both Christians devotees. And that their only LP is a collection of religious songs, that reflect the AOR sound of the moment. It was recorded in 1980, at The Sound House in Hollywood, California. <\/p>\n
There are no clues about Carl McIntyre but Sam Moncivaiz had a previous recording experience as leader of the family based Moncivaiz Singers, a group from Arizona, that, in 1979, went to San Antonio, Texas, to issue their sole record through Amen Records. <\/p>\n
\u201cDevoted to you\u201d is a great AOR song, perfect for today’s Modern Soul scene, that borrows its title for the highly collectable LP of M & M Co. <\/p>\n
__________ <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Frank Pisani \u2013 Please don’t make it funky <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Chicago native Frank Pisani did it all! <\/p>\n
Between the mid-fifties and the beginning of the the eighties, he recorded almost twenty 45s and two LP, starting in Doo-Wop, Rockabilly, Teen Songs to finally embrace Soul and AOR Sounds, either solo or with The Highlights. <\/p>\n
Pressed in 1980 by Happy Day Records, from Oak Park, Illinois, \u201cPlease don’t make it funky\u201d is a brilliant midtempo Blue-Eyed Soul beauty that earned him cult status from the more forward-thinking DJs of the Modern Soul scene. <\/p>\n
__________ <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Sonny Khoeblal \u2013 \u201cArrival\/Born Again\u201d <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Sonny Khoeblal is a distinguished Surinamese pianist, composer and educator renowned for his contributions to jazz, fusion, R&B, and world music. Khoeblal began his musical training at the age of six in Suriname and further honed his skills at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. <\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n
Essential Funk, Soul, and Jazz grooves finally unearthed<\/p>\n
Highly regarded lost classics \u2014 never reissued until now.<\/p>\n