Lady Blackbird- Black Acid Soul  Lady Blackbird’s Black Acid Soul does not fit neatly into any one genre. Yes, the artist (real name: Marley Munroe out of Los Angeles) chose a famous Nina Simone song as her professional moniker, title of a  single and the opening track of her album, Black Acid Soul. Munroe is not posing as a modern-day incarnation of the great songstress and civil rights activist; instead, her influences are wider and deeper and even more far ranging—she even covers a James Gang tune from Yer Album! (Man, I loved the early James Gang stuff for the pure funk of it,... Read More

Roots- (Barney Rachabane)   Roots self-titled album, featuring Barney Rachabane, is somewhat obscure here in the States despite the international recognition accorded Mr. Rachabane for his work with Paul Simon and his legendary status in South Africa as a horn player of the first order.  Roots was a group formed by Rachabane and treated as a one and done, although the group did issue one other album under the Roots moniker. Rachabane is probably best known for his touring in support of the Graceland album for two decades. Yet his musical roots extend far deeper, as one of the living... Read More

Lou Bond- self-titled  Lou Bond is an under the radar soul man whose self- titled album is a mixture of deep period soul with tinges of pop, folk and more than a few surprise covers—not exactly a mainstream soul sound. The Lou Bond album apparently got lost in the house of Stax, overshadowed by the bigger name crooners who fit more into the mold. But with the passage of time, and a sample from the album on an Outkast record, among others who tapped into the soul of this album, Lou Bond can now be appreciated for what it is. Reissued by Light in the Attic (LITA) in 2010, I found a sealed... Read More

Woody Shaw- Blackstone Legacy Woody Shaw’s Blackstone Legacy, his first as a featured artist released in 1971, may be one of his best. Shaw had a steady career as a sideman, working with some of the greats in Paris, including Nathan Davis (whose work after he returned to the States has been covered here), followed by a stint with Blue Note before embarking on a career as a bandleader. After release of Blackstone Legacy, Shaw continued to work as a sideman at the same time he released a succession of albums as a featured artist. Shaw was prolific and died tragically at the age of 44,... Read More

Charles Tolliver-Connect  Charles Tolliver has just released a new album—Connect.  Tolliver is a gifted composer, instrumentalist, producer and co-founder of the legendary Strata-East label. Unlike some of the Strata-East albums, which are now in serious collector territory, pricewise, Connect is readily available, sounds wonderful and won’t cost more than a standard issue record, though it is sourced from tape and wonderfully presented by Gearbox Records. Connect consists of four tracks- starting with “Blue Soul” which begins with urgent war drums and the horns, piano and drums... Read More

Gary Bartz and Maisha-Direct to Disc Gary Bartz and Maisha eloquently answer the question about the direction of modern jazz today. Bartz is a heavyweight player whose credentials take us back to the roots of post-war modern jazz; the list of notables with whom he performed as a sideman is long and impressive, from Blakey and Miles to Eric Dolphy, Max Roach and McCoy Tyner. His album, Another Earth, with Strata-East co-founders Charles Tolliver and Stanley Cowell and the great Pharaoh Sanders, is a classic. Bartz has kept moving through the years, exploring jazz, funk and fusion. As I was... Read More

Collocutor-Continuation  Collocutor’s Continuation is a modern jazz album in the same sense that King Crimson is a “rock group”—the elements are there but it’s put together in a way that makes the experience altogether unique. The brainchild of Tamar Osborn, who composed all the tracks and plays various saxophones and flute, the album is highly atmospheric and charged with a different energy than most modern jazz— it seeks out the dark corners and brings light to unexpected places. Osborn’s interests seem eclectic—from African to classical to soul and pop; she has her... Read More

Nate Morgan- Retribution, Reparation Nate Morgan’s Retribution, Reparation follows his Journey Into Nigritia (covered here) and should be regarded in some ways a part of a continuum—Morgan was exploring a world that still remains undiscovered today—driven by love, not tyranny and inspired by the voices of the past to lead new generations toward a brighter future. The God of the Old Testament is called upon, and the archaic term for the land of blacks in Africa- “Nigritia” still figures into the liner notes, which are inspired by Marcus Garvey. Both albums were released on Nimbus... Read More

Pharoah Sanders Live at the East Pharoah Sanders Live at the East was released after Sanders had already come into his own with the album Karma, released on Impulse in 1969. Sanders was well recognized within the modern jazz community, having been mentored by the likes of  Coltrane and Sun Ra. Sanders appears on one of my favorite Alice Coltrane records, Ptah, the El Daoud, released in 1970. In 1972, Sanders released this live album, which can be found at reasonable prices despite the increasing market value of the older Impulse pressings. The line up on this album is stellar, from Cecil... Read More

Azar Lawrence- Prayer for My Ancestors Azar Lawrence, whose work as a sideman (including with McCoy Tyner after Coltrane’s death) is well recognized, has been enjoying a recent resurgence -two of his albums from the mid-‘70s as a featured performer have been reissued by the Jazz Dispensary. This album seems to have been neglected so far and is worth seeking out, though I have only found it on CD (and even that has not been so easy to find). Released in 2008, Prayer for my Ancestors has a killer roster of players: Nate Morgan on piano, Henry Franklin (whose album, “The Skipper,” is... Read More