Search results: Tidal waves music

Review: Mixed Bag released their now classic spiritual soul jazz album This Is Mixed Bag's First Album on Tribe Records in 1976. It now, finally, gets a much needed reissue via Tidal Waves which is sure to get it back in the spotlight once again with new generations of jazz lovers. The Detroit based band had a mesmerising line up with pianist Kenny Cox, bass from Ron Brooks and several more notable players. The six tracks are all sublime fusion sounds with kipping rhythms, angular reed passages and sweet keyboard energies. It is a high class and high impact record that costs a pretty penny if you can find an original.

Review: Listen up, wise up, Sparks up: Melvin's fourth album, 1973-released Texas Twister, enjoys its first ever European reissue with this limited RSD special. Capturing Sparks' ever expanding palette that broadened throughout the 70s to encompass everything from rhythm & blues to soul boogie to raw, frazzled funk, this album is a great crossroads of his styles. Ranging from the dizzying funk of opener "Whip! Whip!" to the freeform fast-lane jazz guitar solos of the finale "Star In The Crescent" by way of the super polished soul jazz of "Ain't No Woman", it's a generous spread that connects all the best soul dots and reminds us why he was already playing with BB King by age 13.

Review: Stone Alliance's 1974 debut album has long been in-demand with jazz collectors. The trio of Don Alias, Gene Perla and Steve Grossman originally recorded it following a six-month jaunt around South America. As this reissue proves, that trip had a bearing on the outfit's trademark style, which was showcased for the first time on Stone Alliance. It contains tracks that fuse various styles of jazz - freestyle, spiritual, post-bop and jazz-funk amongst them - with percussion that drew heavily on Afro-Cuban music. The result is a varied but always thrilling set that contains both experimental workouts and smooth, late night grooves.

Review: Hard bop, blues, funk and jazz guitarist Melvin Sparks was not lying when he decided upon the title for this, his 1976 classic album recorded with some of the finest session musicians in Detroit. Along the way, the band all jump between soul-jazz, proto-boogie, disco and funk with rare skill. There are some floor lady cuts that will bring down the roof, as well as more beautiful and mellow moments powered by some smooth synths. The record came on CD in 2017 but only now finally makes its way to wax.

Review: A classic Nigerian funk masterclass from Ofege, a ragtag band of Lagos-based teenagers who formed a funk band on a whim in the early 1970s. Blending foreign influences from Jimmy Page to Carlos Santana, and their local heroes including The Funkees and BLO, 'Try And Love' is an honest and true blending of regional and international styles, with the already-established Western genres of rock n' roll, psych and funk particle-colliding neatly with the orange-tinged uplift of West African highlife. On this first official release, catch the "first ever Lagosian boy band" in their best-quality rendition yet; watch out for the colour vinyl variants too.

Review: Standby for some read hot early 70s North Soul goodness on this vital Quentin Harris reissue. The 7" was first put out as a private press and its two tracks were recorded after Harris released his Statements album. This is the first ever vinyl reissue and is super limited to just 250 copies. 'Protect Me From Myself' rides a deep cut groove with silky bass and has big horn stabs next to some soul stirring vocal work. 'I'll Always Love You' on the flip then strips things further back to a heartbreaking soul sound with twirling stings and warm horns, lush backing vocals a sing along chords that will melt even the blackest of characters.

Review: Fuzzy Haskins was an original member of Parliament-Funkadelic, and you can hear his voice plastered all over some of the most vital recordings from the early era of Geogre Clinton's P funk phenomenon. Unfortunately Haskins quit the group in 1977, but he managed to leave his mark in this most vital of funk mythologies. His debut album is a cult classic with all the hallmarks of P funk at its best, with Bootsy on bass, Bernie on keys to name but a few. It's a glorious burst of brilliance for any funk freak to get hyped about - just listen to 'Which Way Do I Disco' and get it on.

Review: Q.A.S.B. is a Japanese funk and soul group from Tokyo who have an unashamed love of James Brown and his hard-hitting funky style. They do big dance numbers as well as more laid-back and mellow moments, but this new 7" is very much in the former camp. "The Jet Leg" (feat Ryo Nakata (Osaka Monaurail)) is all big horns, hard and crisp drums and incendiary vocals from the lead singer. It's a real stormy tune and on the flip side, "Wolf" doesn't let up. It's another rousing tune lead by huge horns, all manner of bristling percussive sounds and a driving rhythm section.

Review: Island funk and soul classic Time Is The Answer from the Wildfire band is getting reissued on both clear and black vinyl this month, with this being the super limited transparent version. It is a first-ever reissue for this much sought-after album and it arrives just in time for summer, which is when it sounds best, some 43 years after it was first self-released back in 1980 on their own self-titled label. The band was well known back in the 80s thanks to performances all across Trinidad, Tobago, the Caribbean, US Virgin Islands and French Guadeloupe. This is the best of the four albums they released - a warm and immersive blend of funk, soul and disco. .

Review: Recorded and initially released in 1976, Stage 2 was one of a trio of killer albums that highlife legend Pat Thomas recorded with the Marjarita backing band. Although amongst his most popular sets in his native Ghana, the album has never been released outside Africa - until now. This remastered edition, which comes pressed on clear vinyl, is therefore long overdue. It remains a superb set all told, with Thomas and his collaborators serving up a fuzzy, sometimes fiery fusion of Afro-Soul, highlife, Afro-funk, rocksteady, reggae and Afro-rock. Thomas is in terrific form throughout, delivering effortlessly soulful and impassioned vocals that turn an otherwise excellent album into a genuinely terrific one.

Review: Holy grail soul heads take note, as this highly sought after piece gets a much-needed repress. Michael Orr recorded Spread Love with Carey Harris in 1976, and it's been a prized totem for collectors ever since on the simple brilliance of the music. This is classic soul in the vein of Roy Ayers or perhaps Gil Scott Heron circa Pieces Of A Man - tender 70s musicianship with warmth in its bones and sincerity in its message. It's a record to keep you cosy on a cold Sunday, not least on outright ballads like 'Feelings' featuring Bernadine Mitchell on a powerful vocal turn. Don't miss out on the chance to grab this gem while it's here - with only 300 copies pressed it won't be around for long.

Review: Heart-Soul & Inspiration's legacy lives on here with a new reissue of their self-titled debut album. The label are also putting out another version on clear vinyl with a bonus 7" featuring some extra cuts, while this one just comes on limited heavyweight black wax with the original album cuts. The lesser-known and rather 'mythical' funk and soul outfit only penned seven cuts for this one but they sure made a splash with it. Members include Jimmy Soul, Ron Carr and John True and they have a tight funk sound as shown here with the steamy and sexy vocal whispers of the opener across a cover of a Barry White classic and more.