Not disco at all — rather a fully rounded excursion into mid-70s dancefloor funk and jazz-funk, by an orchestra of crack NYC musicians originally known as the Smokin’ Shades Of Black.
Like previous Jazzman revives by Sounds of the City Experience and Ricardo Marrero, this reissue saves from obscurity some wonderful music wilfully squandered at the time in the service of tax scamming. The booklet tells the full story.

Mr Pitiful at his most powerful, with the MGs in 1965.

A testament to the impeccable taste of the greatest soul singer of all time — mostly big names and classics, rounded off by gospel giant Clara Ward, and the song Aretha sang at her funeral.

Killer deep soul from Louisiana.

A Now Again labour of love: the complete works of this legendary guitarist-singer-songwriter from Atlanta. His earliest work for the Tuska label, through his more mature releases for Shout, and smaller regional labels like Note, Free Spirit and RSC, at the most subterranean and fertile interface of Southern soul and funk. CD presented in a fifty-six-page, saddle-stitched book, with extensive essays on Marks’ career and never-before-seen photos and ephemera. Great stuff.

Terrific, grooving Black History from the Roy Ayers camp.
‘Remember to remember, to never forget. How long… how long… how long will it take?’

Her 1969 masterpiece, resting the psych-rock of Rotary Connection in favour of Ramsey Lewis’ set-up with Maurice White and Phil Upchurch, in pursuit of the Dionne Warwick / Bacharach & David sound. Of course the kicker is Charles Stepney’s production, peaking in the divine opener, Les Fleurs.

Top-notch, neglected southern soul, plenty deep, produced by Willie Mitchell at Hi in 1970.

Two exclusives: Erykah Badu’s irresistible do-over of the euphoric album instrumental There, with Malian synth-freak Tidiane Seck; and a dub by Mark Ernestus. Lovely silk-screened sleeve.

Three deep funk instrumentals — HBE on the opener. Sound-wise, doubly lethal, as alive as vinyl gets. Silvered, silk-screened sleeve.