Groove Diggers Japan Vinyl & CDs

Review: American jazz drummer Roy Brooks lit a fire under his career when he joined the Horace Silver Combo in the early 1960s; such was the foot in the door that it allowed him to join a multitude of later bands and projects of esteem, including those led by Stanley Turrentine, Yusef Lateef and Charles Mingus. Perhaps it was this early exposure to multiplicity that saw to his incredible collective magnum opus (by then having formed his own band, the Artistic Truth), Black Survival, a live album recorded in 1974 that outwardly heard Brooks' then newfangled sense of spirituality at the time, not to mention his anti-war thematic focus, overflows of emotion, and glorious monologues in favour of peace and unity. One for the spiritual jazz heads, we'd say you can hardly call yourself one if you haven't checked this one out.

Review: Light In The Attic do the preservative god's work of reissuing the rare Going To My Baby's Place by West Coast funk and soul singer Vernon Garrett. His debut album, released in 1975, this is a dynamic, un-fluffed funk breakthrough, following an extended panhandle of 45s that characterised his rarefied career for almost a decade before he moved onto full-lengths. Expanding the bittersweet mood that had characterised his career until this point in time, we hear the likes of 'Something Went Wrong', 'Don't Do What I Do', 'One Man's Loss' and 'Going To My Baby's Place', across which we hear a consciously stoic Garrett duly acknowledge the natural peaks and troughs of life, through which he recognises that it's all necessary for one well lived. Vernon's wild and powerful songs come backed by incandescent performances by members such as Jimmy Gough and Leon Kittrell, who would later form L.T.D. and David T Walker.

Review: An Evening With The Devil is regarded as one of the Tribe Records label's finest ever releases - an unrestrained free jazz expression from Wendell Harrison that is packed with forward-thinking grooves. The Detroit reedman was always in a class of one and he showed it here with a record so heavy it was way ahead of its time. Now though it's regarded as a classic with trumpet from Marcus Belgrave, Charles Eubanks on keyboards, Ike Daney on drums, and Will Austin on bass. There are also some spoken word passages from the Black Messengers making this a jewel of the jazz underground.

Review: This 1999 album by Weldon Irvine landed well with his fans upon the time of release but it was really boosted dint popular conciseness and gained renewed recognition with the rise of the hip-hop scene and the rare groove movement in the 90s and beyond. It has been sampled by all the greats from those worlds and has made it onto albums by Q-Tip and Mos Def. Now, for the first time ever, P-VINE is releasing this historically significant work on LP as the original CD has become hard to find.

Review: Self-released in 1969, Our Thing was the debut album from the Houston-based Kashmere Stage Band, a now legendary funk, soul and jazz ensemble formed at Kashmere High School under the guidance of musical director Conrad O. Johnson. The student band released several cult albums on Kram Records before disbanding in 1978. They became known for their raw funk sound and a distinctive Blacksploitation vibe and their energy and style were truly unique. This black vinyl LP reissue comes with a Japanese obi-strip and is a great way to celebrate the legacy of a group that left a lasting mark on the funk scene.

Review: This is the second album released in 1978 by the Swedish singer Meta Roos, collaborating with keyboardist Nippe Sylwen. While it may not be widely known in general, it gained recognition as an intriguing work, particularly among Japanese rare groove enthusiasts, thanks to its first-ever reissue by P-Vine in 1996. The album includes a variety of classic club jazz tracks that have set dancefloors on fire, such as Jorge Ben's 'Zazueira', famous for Ellis Regina's rendition, and Neil Sedaka's 'Here We Are Falling Love Again'. It also features Nippe Sylwen's poppy and refreshing arrangements of timeless songs like Billy Joel's 'Just The Way You Are', Roberta Flack's 'Feel Like Making Love', Marina Shaw's 'Street Walking Women', and Carole King's 'You've Got a Friend'. P-Vine is delighted to present this album to music fans once again on vinyl with an iconic Japanese obi-strip!

Review: Trombonist Phil Ranelin alongside Wendell Harrison founded Tribe as a community enterprise and record label in Detroit in the 70s that went on to have a huge impact. Its musical legacy lives on through plenty of vital albums, not least Vibes From The Tribe. The Japanese Edition of the original album now arrives on Groove Diggers complete with an obi-strip and six spellbinding tunes that have all been remixed and remastered from the original multi-track tapes or lacquered directly from master tapes. It is as good as spiritual jazz gets, frankly.

Review: Roy Porter, a stalwart of the US jazz scene with ties to Charlie Parker's band, left his mark with his band Sound Machine's recordings 'Inner Feelings' and 'Jessica' in the 70s, and both are now considered rare groove classics. In 1994, he reimagined these tracks with a new lineup, dubbed Generation '94, blending old and new to craft the Generation album. Tracks like the title cut infuse 70s groove with rap, while 'Mr. RP & Me (Vocal)' combines poetry with funky beats. Notable samples like 'Panama' and 'Slaughterhouse' further bridge jazz and hip-hop, foreshadowing the fusion explored by artists like Robert Glasper.