• Music

    Various Artists – G.O.D. RECORDS (Garden Of Dreams): Mondo Farfisa Garage Psycodelico

    I was a big fan of bands like The Bomboras and The Lords of Altamont during their heydey in the 1990s and 2000s, but there is such a deep, rich reservoir of farfisa and hammond organ-based garage rock that it boggles the mind.  The ever-excellent Greek record label G.O.D. RECORDS (Garden Of Dreams) offers what ends up being about fours albums’ worth of fuzzy organ music to whittle your day away with.  A solid compilation all the way through.

  • Music

    The James Taylor Quartet – Mission Impossible

    From the Acid Jazz Bandcamp site: “To mark the 35th Anniversary of Acid Jazz, we have been reissuing seminal records from our catalogue on colour vinyl. The final instalment – and the second James Taylor Quartet release in the series – is this this version of ‘Mission Impossible’ is pressed on a fitting red vinyl. The original release track-listing showcases JTQ’s sixties soundtrack odyssey – driving organ instrumentals from the beginnings of Acid Jazz, showing James and the original lineup in their prime. Alongside Lalo Schifrin’s iconic title track appear tracks by Herbie Hancock, Paul Simon and Bacharach & David,…

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    Brian Auger – Auger Incorporated

    Brian Auger is the father of Acid Jazz and really needs no introduction, but his Bandcamp site provides a fine one anyway for those of you readers who haven’t had the pleasure of being introduced to the man: “Soul Bank Music announces a back catalogue deal with legendary musician and jazz keyboard master Brian Auger – with the release of a career spanning compilation ‘Auger Incorporated’. Lauded and loved by artists as diverse as Mose Allison to The Brand New Heavies, his tracks have been sampled by Mos Def, Common, Air and Kid Loco, his original compositions covered by Sarah…

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    Joey DeFrancesco – In the Key of the Universe

    Organist Joey DeFrancesco passed away yesterday, leaving perhaps the most impressive background of any jazz organist in the past 20 years or so.  Here is a list of artists he worked with: Miles Davis, Houston Person, John McLaughlin, David Sanborn, Arturo Sandoval, Larry Coryell, Frank Wess, Benny Golson, James Moody, Steve Gadd, Danny Gatton, Elvin Jones, Jimmy Cobb, George Benson, Pat Martino, Tony Monaco, John Scofield, Lee Ritenour, Joe Lovano, as well as session work with Ray Charles, Bette Midler, Janis Siegel, Diana Krall, Jimmy Smith, and Van Morrison. As I turned 52 a few days ago, it’s shocking to…

  • Music

    John Patton – Soul Connection

    Big John Patton was a legendary jazz keyboardist and master of the Hammond B-3 organ.  This session, released by Nilva Records originally, was criminally hidden away, but thanks to Jazz Room Records, it’s getting not only a second life, but it’s led to a further appreciation of Patton’s abilities.  A killer groove-laden album, indeed.

  • Music

    Shirley Scott – One For Me

    No matter how ardent a collector of music you are, there are going to be some brilliant artists and albums you will miss.  One could say that that’s part of the fun of discovering music.  Credit for our surprise gem of the day goes squarely to Bandcamp’s blog, where Ashawnta Jackson penned an article on soul jazz.  One of the names mentioned was a lovely lady, Shirley Jackson, whom you see depicted in the cover art and her weapon of choice, a Hammond B-3 organ. Jackson’s back story is impressive, as is how she came to focus on the organ. …