We haven't heard from him for a while but the good news is that legendary funk apostle, BOOTSY COLLINS, is still actively spreading the funk gospel. He returns to the fray with 'World Wide Funk,' his first new album in six years. It consists of fifteen action-packed tracks and finds the amiably off-beat Ohio-born bassist sharing the spotlight with almost thirty guests contributors - these range from  veteran rappers Chuck D, Doug E Fresh, and Big Daddy Kane,  and blues guitarist Eric Gales, to hard rock legend Iggy Pop, fellow bass thumper Stanley Clarke, and Philly R&B man, Musiq Soulchild. Even the late Bernie Worrell, the keyboard wizard in George Clinton's Parliament-Funkadelic axis, makes a final appearance on 'A Salute To Bernie.'

The material ranges from full-on, in-your-face, old school funk (like the title track) and slick, catchy mid-tempo grooves ('Pusherman') to pumping dance floor bangers ('Hot Saucer' featuring Musiq Soulchild and 'Ladies Nite'), silky ballads ('Heaven Yes' and 'Worth My While') and breezy floor-fillers (the excellent 'Cando Coated Lover'). For funk and soul fans, it's a veritable cornucopia of both old and new school R&B flavours.

 'World Wide Funk' is released on 27th October via Mascot Records/Mascot Label Group

Last Updated on Saturday, 23 September 2017 13:49

                            US author, Jimmy McDonough, has written biographies of figures that range from cult film director Russ Meyer to country star Tammy Wynette and Canadian singer-songwriter, Neil Young. Now, though, he's turned his attention to the Arkansas-born singer who's seen as one of the key figures in the rise of Hi Records and Memphis soul - AL GREEN. 

The book is called Soul Survivor and over the course of 432 pages, McDonough puts Green's life and music under the microscope as never before, which results in a compelling page-turner that offers new perspectives of the singer who started out in gospel music  and then successfully crossed over to the secular field before returning to his church music roots. For those frustrated by the largely superficial, air-brushed self-portrait that was Green's own memoir, 2009's Take Me To The River: An Autobiography, Soul Survivor digs much deeper and thus offers considerably more insight into the man from Forrest City.

Soul Survivor: A Biography Of Al Green is out now via Da Capo Press

Last Updated on Saturday, 23 September 2017 13:50

Noted for his virile and passionately soulful set of pipes, Missouri singer/songwriter MICHAEL McDONALD returns with his first album in almost a decade. It's called 'Wide Open' and features twelve new songs co-produced by the 65-year-old singer with Shannon Forrest. The album follows in the wake of 2008's 'Soul Speak,' McDonald's take on a set of classic R&B covers, but is significant in that it is his first album of all-original material since 2000's 'Blue Obsession.'

McDonald's career began in the 1970s, initially doing background vocals for Steely Dan - he appeared on their 'Royal Scam,' 'Aja,' and 'Gaucho' LPs - though he is best remembered for his hit-making stint in the Doobie Brothers between the years 1975-1982. In the '80s, the singer found solo fame, and scored hits on his own with 'Sweet Freedom' as well as smash duets with Patti LaBelle ('On My Own') and James Ingram ('Yah Mo Be There').

More recently, earlier in 2017, McDonald appeared as a guest on Thundercat's single 'Show You The Way' from the album 'Drunk.'

'WIDE OPEN' IS OUT NOW VIA BMG.

Look out for an interview with Michael McDonald coming soon at SJF.  

Read the review of 2008's 'Soul Speak' here: http://www.soulandjazzandfunk.com/reviews/488-soul-speak.html

Last Updated on Saturday, 23 September 2017 13:51

                      "He's interesting to be around because knows so many records -  he's like an encyclopaedia." So says Zara McFarlane, who is talking about her boss at Brownswood Records,  world-renowned DJ, broadcaster,  and tastemaker, Gilles Peterson. The Dagenham-raised singer - who won a MOBO award three years ago in the category of 'Best Jazz Act' - has been with Brownswood since 2011 and is just about to release 'Arise,' her third album for the label. She describes Peterson as an inspirational presence at the record company. "He's an ideas man 100%," she declares.  "He's been helpful for me with all of my albums. He likes to sit down and ask you what's going on with your life and when's the record coming out.  But musically, he offers inspiration through records and will say, 'I think this record will be perfect for you to listen to for inspiration,' and it's been really helpful. He won't automatically reference something obvious but he can hear something that might influence me in a different way, which always works and I find inspiring. So that's pretty cool."

 Zara says it was Peterson's idea for her to meld jazz with reggae, which is a musical fusion that defines the singular sound and style of 'Arise,' a 12-track album that finds the singer-songwriter delving into her Jamaican ancestry. "Exploring jazz and my heritage in Jamaican music is something that I've always been very interested," says the singer who studied at the London College of Music. "With the last album, I had a cover of (Junior Murvin's) 'Police And Thieves' and on the new record I wanted to explore Jamaican music even more. I've always been interested in my Caribbean heritage, though Jamaican history is not something that I've known a huge amount about, especially as I grew up in Dagenham."

The singer had a chance to visit Jamaica recently, which further fuelled her interest in the island's history and culture. "I went there in June for a week to do some research for a musical I'm writing based on a Caribbean folk story," she reveals. "It's the folk music of the 1830s-era just before the emancipation period in Jamaica that really interested me, though I was also listening to 'kumina,' an early folk music of Jamaica from the late 1800s, after the emancipation of slavery, and the influence of Liberian drumming, and also the Rastafarian element."

Last Updated on Saturday, 23 September 2017 13:52

Veteran soul collectors will have very fond memories of Philly harmony group THE INTRIGUES. Their 1969 Thom Bell/Bobby Martin penned 'In A Moment' was a huge US soul hit on Yew and even had a UK release on the old London label, I think.

The Intrigues never found success again and after a spell at GRT/Janus they disbanded. Lead singer Al Brown was determined to stay in the business so he joined with members of another Philly outfit, the Coalitions, to form a "new" version of the Intrigues.

The quintet found plenty of live work and via their booking agent they got to meet hot song writers Mervin and Melvin Seals (the "Lyric" and "Mystro" of 'Could It Be I'm Falling In Love' and other Philly classics).

In 1978 the Intrigues, the Seals brothers and producer James "Channey" Turner went into a New Jersey studio to work on an album. Sadly only five tracks were cut and they were never issued... till now. It seems that Intrigues singer Alan Williams recently discovered the tapes and they've now been licensed to UK soul reissue specialists Soul Junction Records who now make them available as a 6 track EP, 'If The Shoe Fits'.

The mini album is named for the uplifting opening cut and dancers will also enjoy 'AM To The PM' and the slightly funky 'Give Her The Love That She Needs'. The big ballads are 'Let Me Love You Tonight' and 'You Are So Dear To Me'. Both are classic Philly style soft soul artefacts and on both, the harmonies are superb... but you probably guessed that.

The INTRIGUES' 'IF THE SHOE FITS' EP will be available via SOUL JUNCTION from September 18th