...this blog captures in order the albums as I pull these gems off the shelf and groove to them .....

Saturday, January 10, 2015

Southern Funkin' (2005)

Southern Funkin' - Louisiana Funk & Soul 1967-1979

An superb funk soul compilation for some pretty obscure and unknown musicians playing some pretty groovy grooves!!!    There are plenty of grooves and beats for DJ's here!

  Songs were lifted from ANLA, Goldband, BOLD, Soul Unlited and other more obscure labels which makes this compilation very collectible in itself.


Saturday, January 3, 2015

Jimmy McGriff - The Groover (1982)

Jimmy McGriff - The Groover

 A later groove project from the organ master Jimmy McGriff which is still amazing stuff.   This was from a New  York session from 1982 and included contributions from Arnold Sterling (sax), Billy Butler (guitar), Bob Cranshaw ( bass), Belton Evans and Ray Mantilla on the drums.

Jeff Buckley - Grace (1994)

Jeff Buckley - Grace (SACD)

  What a great album and now thanks to ORG Music we can all enjoy this in loving 96kbts SACD offering an amazing sound reproduction.  I was trying to decide on 180g vinyl remaster of this SACD and I finally settled for this one.....

Of course this is a wonderful album and is one of the albums you just gotta hear!

It was released by ORG music a division of Sony/Columbia and was engineered and mastered to SACD by Bernie Grundman who did a wonderful job on this mix!

The instruments are very well balanced and the whole disc feels in proportion. The clarity is high and the emotion is full on............the lows are there but not pronouced...the highs are there too and in a few spots i think a bit too shrill but a minor complaint....definitely only in a few spots....

John Coltrane - My Favorite Things (1961)

John Coltrane - My Favorite Things (SACD)

Carefuly mastered from the original master tapes for ORG Music by Bernie Grundman.  This SACD brings this seminal Coltrane album to life with great clarity and colors.

I have been a big fan of Coltrane for a long time now and was delighted to see this gem on SACD.

If you are not too familiar with this album it was released in 1961 and featured four tracks of which three were quite long and full of creative exploration.

McCoy Tyner, Steve Davis and Elvin Jones round out the quartet which although do improvisation, never seem to stray too far from the Coltrane sound control.

The sound on tis SACD is very good with nice clarity and instrument differentiation and some speaker seperation.  The overall sound is nice and warm and very well balanced.

Morgana King - For You, For Me, For Evermore (1956)

Morgana King - For You, For Me, For Evermore

  Vinyl reissue of the classic mono LP of Morgana King's classic "For You, For Me, For Evermore".   If you love orchestral softer crooner style like Helen Merrill then this little devil is right down your alley!

Orchestration was by Richard Hayman and his touch is pure magic and fits King's gentle voice to perfection.    Interesting note is that she released "In the wee small hours" the same year as did Frank Sinatra.  

Some of the songs featured on this album were used in movies too so likely you have heard a tune or two from this album.

According to the cover "except for advances in technical equipment in master cutting and vinyl pressing we have kept as close as possible to the original production".

Jazz enthusiasts will also adore this album and her voice.