Prayve's Rare European Jazz

Tracklist:

1. The Jef Gilson Nonet - Ouverture, 1966
2. Nathan Davis - Carmell's Black Forest Waltz, 1966
3. Joki Freund - The Caribean Ringo, 1963
4. Georges Arvanitas Trio - Black And White, 1960s
5. Giorgio Azzolini - So What, 1960
6. Gunter Hampel - Heartplants, 1965
7. Carl Drevo & Die Clarke Boland Big Band - By Strauss, 1966
8. Sahib Shihab & The Danish Radio Group - Dance Of The Fakowees, 1965
9. The Don Rendell/Ian Carr Quintet - Tan Samfu, 1966
10. Bent Jädig - B's Waltz, 1967
11. Roland Kovac Orchestra - Blue Dance, 1964
12. Dusko Gojkovic - Got No Money, 1975
13. Quartetto Di Lucca - Estate '61, 1961
14. Barney Wilen & Mal Waldron Trio - Autumn Leaves, 1989
15. Sestetto Basso-Valdambrini - Monotonia, 1962
16. The Tubby Hayes Quintet - Down In The Village, 1962
17. Marion Brown - Boat Rock, 1968

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Prayve's Modal & Spiritual Jazz

This new compilation blends two of my favorite jazz currents together with a selection of very very heavy tracks, which I hope you will find both enchanting and inspiring.

The melodies on these are soaked with influences from over the world, while retaining a real street credibility, and will undoubtedly pleasure the ear of those least familiar to this type of music and the most regarding jazz enthusiasts equally.

In this day where it has become harder and harder to turn to present music for spirituality, where an artist's achievement is measured by the appeal of his recordings to mainstream audiences and where the standard channels just don't provide the right material to quench my thirst of music; digging into the treasures of the past seems to me like the best way to escape from the surrounding musical boredom and to feed my soul the nutrients it begs for.

The first track you will hear is by Hal Singer, an American sax soloist who settled in Paris during the 1960's. In 1974, assisted by the "crême de la crême" of French Modern Jazz instrumentalists (Jef Gilson, Bernard Lubat, Jacky Samson), he recorded the Album "Soul of Africa". A ground-breaking piece of spiritual jazz, among which the track "Garvey's Strut" with probably one of the coolest bass lines ever laid on wax.

The following is the critically acclaimed oriental jazz piece "Gol-e Gandom", by Dr. Lloyd Miller, who spent years in Eastern countries and playing jazz in Europe. So strong was passion for Persian culture and music, Miller hosted his own prime-time main network jazz show on NIR-TV in Tehran.

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Tracklist is:

1. Hal Singer and Jef Gilson - Garvey's Strut, 1974
2. Lloyd Miller - Gol-e Gandom, 1967
3. Alice Coltrane - Blue Nile, 1970
4. The Jef Gilson Nonet - I.A.M., 1966
5. Alain Goraguer - Promenades Au Bois, 1964
6. Edison Machado - So Por Amor, 1963
7. Joki Freund - HL 20, 1963
8. Nathan Davis - The Flute In The Blues, 1965
9. Shamek Farrah - First Impressions, 1974
10. Cliff Jordan - Ouagadougou, 1972
11. Shahib Shihab & The Danish Radio Group - The Crosseyed Cat, 1965
12. Meirelles e Os Copa 5 - Solo, 1965

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And please leave a comment if you enjoy it;)

Prayve's Funky Soul Jazz

Hi everybody! I'm back this time with a new selection of finely matured soul jazz tracks, which just seem to have just gotten better with age!

In the late fifties and early sixties, hard bob jazz started incorporating strong blues, gospel and rhythm and blues influences. With a very rhythmic-heavy backbone, and solid solo musicianship, the grooves started getting tighter and more and more funky. This eventually evolved into the advent of jazz funk, with the later appearance of the synthesizer.

Soul Jazz ensembles were often smaller, favoring trios and quartets over the typical jazz quintet or sextet; and often featured the famed Hammond organ.

This comp starts out with a massive joint, "Book of Slim" by Gene Harris & the 3 Sounds; which was notoriously sampled by Madlib in "Shades of Slim", the opener of his Shades of Blue album. Super tight drum and bass lines with very jazzy piano riffs, along with beautiful strings arrangements.

Stanley Turrentine's cover of Dusty Springfield's "Spooky" is another killer, and was never released until recently in a Blue Note unreleased series.

Grant Green's "Sookie Sookie" from his classic 1970 Blue Note "Alive" was sampled in 1993 by jazz-rap group US3 for the song "Tukka yoot's riddim". Green's original soul jazz version is a 10 minute dance-floor killer, showcasing insanely good guitar, sax and organ solos.

Then comes Monty Alexander's cover of Al Green's "Love and Hapiness" from the album "Rass!". Monty Alexander was born in Kingston, and this album was recorded with Ernest Ranglin, the legendary guitarist who recorded many of Ska and Reggae's seminal albums. "Love and Hapiness" oozes with cool mellow guitar riffs, a blend of jazz and reggae beats and elctric piano grooves. Absolute dope - Guaranteed by your dealer (me)!

Other gems here include some incredibly soulful jams by harpist Dorothy Ashby; keyboardists Eddie Russ, Junior Mance, Lonnie Smith, Reuben Wilson, Les McCann and Billy Larkin; an amazingly cool version of the Jackson Five's "I want you back" by vibe legend Cal Tjader; and some spectacular tenor sax work by Curtis Amy and Gene Ammons.

Gene Ammons is responsible for the track "Jungle Strut". And Wow!!!! What a cut!!! A HUGE, super soulful, yet dark and hypnotysing, piece of groove, featuring Bernard Purdie on Drums. Good luck not getting your mind blown away...

Other favorites of mine on this compilation: Junior Mance "Don't Cha Hear Me Callin' To Ya"... serious breaks and soul in this bomb; Billy Larkin & the Delegates "Pygmy": latin flavored soul jazz, with great percussion and organ drive!

Finally, we close out with a couple of Lalo Schifrin-penned soundtrack material. First with the haunting "Hunt Down" for the film "Mannix", then with "The Danube Incident" from the second "Mission Impossible" soundrack, sampled by Portishead on "Sour Times".

The last track is the treasured "Ripped Open By Metal Explosions". A classic piece of soulful darkness by Galt McDermot, with Idris Muhammad on drums.

Complete tracklist is:

1. Gene Harris & The 3 Sounds - Book of Slim, 1968
2. Stanley Turrentine - Spooky, 1968
3. Grant Green - Sookie Sookie, 1970
4. Gian Franco Pienzio - Grigio Perla, 1973
5. Dorothy Ashby - Soul Vibrations, 1968
6. Monty Alexander - Love And Happiness, 1974
7. Eddie Russ - Watergate Blues, 1974
8. Curtis Amy - Mustang, 1969
9. Billy Larkin & the Delegates - Pygmy, 1964
10. Cal Tjader - I Want You Back, 1973
11. Junior Mance - Don't Cha Hear Me Callin' To Ya, 1970
12. Reuben Wilson - Knock On Wood, 1969
13. Les McCann - Shamading, 1972
14. Lalo Schifrin - Hunt Down, 1966
15. Lonnie Smith - I Feel The Earth Move, 1971
16. Gene Ammons - Jungle Strut, 1970
17. Lalo Schifrin - The Danube Incident, 1969
18. Galt McDermot - Ripped Open By Metal Explosions, 1970

Download now and get your soul jazzed-up!