Category Archives: Contributors

Category for contributors and guest authors for posts, articles and recordings.

Atlanta – Hotbed Of 70s Soul

Label: Kent Records
Catalogue Number: CDKEND 518
Release Date: 29rd March 2024  
Format: CD

The GRC Records set-up in Atlanta produced a wealth of great soul music. Because of the sudden curtailment of the company, due to owner Michael Thevis’ incarceration, so much of it never saw a release.

The tapes were preserved though and with many tracks being issued. This latest batch of tape discoveries is of shockingly high quality. Sam Dees’ presence is a major cause of this.

Standouts include Miss Louistine’s original version of ‘Con Me’ – surely a contender to be a Deep Soul Treasure, had Dave Godin heard it. Her take on Dees’ ‘Extra Extra’ is possibly the opposite emotion – sheer joy at finding her lover; equally well expressed. ‘Paperman’ is a classic mid 70s Dees’ composition, well sung by Wes Lewis with his group Alpaca Phase III. Dees collaborated with another major GRC talent, Joe Hinton, for the funkier ‘Shouldn’t I Be Given The Right To Be Wrong’. Hinton co-penned two songs with backing singer Louvain Demps who left her job with Motown’s backing girls the Andantes to move to Atlanta with Hinton. Their ‘Grant Me One More Day’ is a beautiful track and ‘Depend On Me’ is another worthy find.

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Ariel

Label: Jazzroom    
Catalogue Number: LP JAZZR 031
Release Date: February 2024 
Format: LP Vinyl

A Jazz Dance Favourite that Jazz Room Records Head Honcho Paul Murphy was hepped to by Brownswood and 6Music Jazz Supremo Gilles Peterson at the 20th Birthday Bash of London’s most Underground of Clubs: Shiftless Shuffle.

Murphy: “I’d quite forgotten all about it, but when I saw the reaction on the dancefloor it was “Mental Note Time, get on the case for a full investigation and let’s see some Vinyl re-issue action!”

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New Kent Records 45’s

The Mayberry Movement
“I Can See Him Making Love To You” / “What Did I Do Wrong”

Label: Kent Records
Catalogue Number: CITY 090 
Release Date: 24th November 2023 
Format: 7’

This pairing was slated to be Event 218 in late 1974, but as no copies have emerged, it can be assumed that the single was pulled. It is hard to know why, but judging by its rarity the Anderson Brothers GSF release of ‘I Can See Him Loving You’ was a commercial failure – perhaps Event didn’t want to suffer a similar fate. This reading of producer Ray Dahrouge’s song is more soulful and vital than the Anderson Brothers which was huge on the Northern Soul scene, but without this take for competition at the time. Maybe the steamy finale to the Mayberry’s version was a bit too much for radio play, but surely the brilliance of the ballad A side would have compensated for that. Their loss; our gain.

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Blue Mode / El Chavo

“Smells Like Teen Spirt” / “Hola Muneca”

Label: Jazzroom 
Catalogue Number: JAZZR 032
Release Date: 23rd January 2024
Format: 7’

The A-Side is one of the biggest tunes from the grunge era and is given a Jazzy Funky Groovey version by Blue Mode. Nirvana were influenced by everything from The Gap Band to Louie Louie and a fair smattering of 80’s indie and this production by Chip Wickham mix’s in a swinging ‘60s’ Blue Note vibe with Acid Jazz sound and brings it bang up to date with Nu-Jazz experience.  First time on 45 and is already a DJ favourite after being included in Paul Murphy set”Jazz Room on BBE Records.

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The George Semper Music Archives – Joel Semper Brockman

Semper sounds have been heard in television, film, and radio, a highlight being 2009 Eddie Murphy film Norbit, ‘The Hands of Time’. Creating music until his last days Geroge Semper transitioned in 2009 in his birthplace of Trinidad & Tobago, WI. Greatly inspired by his fathers musical talent and body of work Joel started The George Semper Music Archives. The archives include Semper and his collaborators’ 5 decades music catalog and restored master recordings!

A digital development consultant Joel resides in the San Francisco, California “Bay Area”. His musical journey began in learning more about his Fathers career. George and his Mother met at a turning point in US culture, a time when Semper backed Ray Charles at the Moulin Rouge hotel-casino.  She, a southern Anglo Belle and George, created a booking company with  some of the first racially integrated live shows on the Las Vegas strip.

Born into a creative world with mixed ancestry enriched Joel’s cultural and social perspectives with a diverse range of experiences.  In his teens, like his Father, Joel pursued a music career as promoter and producer launching a successful live venue, independent record label, and leading production company securing a multi-artist production deal &  platinum status. In his twenties, he moved to New York City, and worked with finance, consulting and tech companies, providing staffing & digital solutions. During this time he contributed to the development of the world’s first social site led by Peter Friedman talkcity.com and the first mobile YouTube Eveo.com.

Joel is a married proud father of two sons, whose journey continues with new discoveries of his Fathers music.

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Danny Ward & Reality

Label: Jazz Room Records
Catalogue Number: JAZZ027
Release Date: 29th September 2023 
Format: LP

Another Holy Grail album from Jazz Room Records with Danny Ward & Reality who were the Go To Funky Jazz Band for College and other Hardcore Funk Party gigs in the Mid to late ’70’s in the Seattle area of the Pacific North West. They didn’t just drop covers of the latest Disco or Top 40 hits though but instead took their audiences on a musical trip through the Funkiest and Jazziest sounds of the day featuring a coterie of Steely Dan inspired covers of cuts made famous by George Benson, Lydia Pense and Coldblood, The Headhunters , Mandrill and many more.

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ONEGRAM

“TRANS EUROPE EXPRESS” ​/​ “AEO”

Label: Jazz Room Records
Catalogue Number: JAZZ029
Release Date: September 2023 
Format: EP

When we do something Funky at Jazz Room Records you can be sure it’s gonna be a Dancefloor Smashsation! Got TWO Super Dynamic cuts on this Hot Slab of Wax. First track needs no introduction unless you’ve been sleeping under a rock for the last Dancefloor Millenium.

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U.S.A – Across The Pond With Don E. Brown

Updated 22/07/23

The Exportations (aka Living Proof)
In the early 80’s Anthony Pilgrim, Bernard Gibson, Ernestine Johnson, Rick Gibson, Willie Gibson, from Detroit, Michigan released a couple of singles at VIR-RO Records. One minor hit was “Find Another Day”. The group consisted of the three brothers, Gibson and two other singers. In the mid-1980s, they changed their Name to “Living Proof” and released another album and a handful of Singles.

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Joe Graham / John Edwards 

‘Higher Than High’ / ‘It’s Got To Be The Real Thing For Me This Time’

Label: Kent-City Records
Catalogue Number: CITY 087
Release Date: 25th August 2023 
Format: 7’

The recent find of four Joe Graham recordings in the GRC/Aware tapes has shown there was much more to Joe’s talents than the southern soul of his 60s Chant recordings and the synthesiser, electro pop he recorded for various Atlanta labels in the 80s. ‘Higher Than High’ is a soulful disco number featuring a relentless beat. The track already has a strong following, thanks to advance plays in Europe and the UK from DJ Dave Thorley. This track, along with three other numbers, were recorded around 1976 for the GRC stable – just as the company was floundering so badly that the songs were left as unmixed multi-track tapes.  Now mixed the demand for this one will be high.

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Lorraine Feather

Contributors, Lorraine Feather

Updated 9/06/23

ESSAY FOR Dr. Robert Riehemannʼs Course
THE LIFE OF THE MIND, (2010)

THE LIFE OF MY MIND………Lorraine Feather

Iʼve been asked to write an essay about my creative life by your instructor, Dr. Riehemann. He has played my musical work for some of you, but otherwise itʼs unlikely that you would know who I am. Iʼve never been featured prominently on TV, or had a big pop hit. I describe myself as a “lyricist/jazz singer.” I put “lyricist” first because I can envision giving up singing at some point, but never writing. Iʼve been involved with some big projects as a lyricist, have been in and out of work, written lyrics for film and TV, done seven solo recordings since the late 1990s. I have what I would call a most interesting career, one that engages me tremendously.

I donʼt have children and I donʼt know anything about parenting, but Iʼve seen it done. As I understand it from friends of mine with kids in college, thereʼs a fair amount of pressure these days to offer some idea of what you want to do in life by the time youʼre in your late teens or early twenties. The basic point of this essay—to quickly end the suspense as to whether there might be one—is to share a little of my own experience regarding the setting of goals, changing of goals, despairing over whether itʼs possible ever to reach any of them, and lessons Iʼve learned along the way in the course of pursuing my own.

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Hideo Shiraki

Plays Bossa Nova

Label:Jazzroom Records
Catalogue Number: JAZZR-025
Release Date: 23rd  June 2023  
Format: Vinyl LP Only

Hideo Shiraki travelled to the US from Japan in 1962 and was bowled over by Horace Silver and the Bossa Nova Craze happening at the same time. When he returned to Japan he went straight into the studio and cut this Blue Note inspired Japanese Jazz Masterpiece.

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Colin Curtis Presents: Indigo Jam Unit

“My passion for Japanese jazz started way back in the 1970s and was fueled even more as the decade went on with the evolution of jazz dance in the UK’s burgeoning jazz funk scene. As jazz breaks emerged in the jazz rooms, the demand for danceable jazz music in the UK kept growing. Through scouring the record shops in Manchester, Birmingham, and London, the emergence of great Japanese jazz added another dimension to this genre. My love for Japanese jazz continued until the turn of the century when the names changed from Sadao Watanabe, Mikio Masuda, Casiopea, Toshiyuki Honda, Shigeharu Mukai, and the like to the new emerging nu-jazz bands like Sleep Walker, Quasimode, Kyoto Jazz Massive, Jabberloop, and in 2006, the powerful force that was the indigo jam unit!

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Shrine – The Rarest Soul Label Vol.2 Andy Rix 2000

The story of Shrine Records, from its creation to demise, was told in Volume One. As promised Volume Two will look at those who contributed to the creation of the Shrine sound and the songs that have captured the attention of 60s Soul fans all over the world.

The story of Shrine Records, from its creation to demise, was told in Volume One. As promised Volume Two will look at those who contributed to the creation of the Shrine sound and the songs that have captured the attention of 60s Soul fans all over the world.

Continue reading Shrine – The Rarest Soul Label Vol.2 Andy Rix 2000 →