Black Jazz Records #1 - GENE RUSSELL New Directions

A rollicking hard-piano groove soul-jazz LP and a fairly straight-ahead start to the Black Jazz label. 'New Directions' is not a particularly intensely funky release nor one offering much of a modal electric feel but Black Jazz Records label producer/ executive director Gene Russell's very first album for his own label offers lots of chestnut standards like 'On Green Dolphin Street', 'Willow Weep For Me', 'Black Orpheus', and (Horace's) 'Silver Serenade', all played with a loose punchy Steinway piano slam that's quite similar to Russell's "Up, Up & Away" LP on Decca from the mid-1960's or something you'd hear from the early The Three Sounds or perhaps Quartette Tres Bien. Eddie Harris' huge smash 'Listen Here' is the likely stand-out track although Stevie Wonder's 'My Cherie Amour' is also typically lovely and smooth-swinging. Certainly a nice record but the best was yet to come, funk-heads!

Black Jazz Records #2 - WALTER BISHOP JR Coral Keys

Serious grooves and deep Afro-centric flavor here on rippling Steinway piano from Charlie Parker's late-period accompanist/ band leader. 'Soul Turnaround' is perhaps one of the top five tracks within the 'rare groove' genre and showcases a juggernaut rhythmic propulsion coupled with a sweet samba-feel descending scale lick that lingers in your head as it makes your body uncontrollably shake around for its entire 8 minutes. 'Coral Keys' is another funky, smoky modal swinger featuring New Orleans monster drummer Idris Muhammad laying it down heavy & hot from the bass drum up, alongside horn giant Harold Vick and trumpet virtuoso Woody Shaw. A superbly funky jazz LP and a perfect foreshadowing of the more electric sounds awaiting in the wings of the Black Jazz Records stable.