TWIN CITIES FUNK AND SOUL - LOST R&B GROOVES FROM MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL 1964-1979

Rare soul from Minneapolis – a surprisingly great source for grooves in the years before Prince and Morris Day! Turns out, the Twin Cities were already funky, way before the Purple One came into being – as you'll hear in this wealth of rare singles from the late 60s on up through the 70s – all of them mighty darn soulful, and most of them pretty dang funky as well! The wealth of work is really surprisingly – with strong echoes of styles going on in the Chicago and Detroit scenes at the time, but maybe even more surprising, given that Minneapolis/St Paul didn't have nearly the same amount of resources.

The package is easily one of the best ever done by the Secret Stash label – a set that really ups the level of their reissues – with a motherlode of killer cuts that include "Love Me Leave Me" by The Valdons, "Sweet Smell Of Perfume" by Maurice McKinnies & The Champions, "Work Your Flapper (part 1)" by Jackie Harris & The Champions, "She's A Whole Lot's A Woman" by Mojo & His Chi 4, "I Ain't Gonna Cheat On You No More" by Willie Walker, "Save Me" by Wanda Davis, "Saxophone Disco" by Morris Wilson, "Honey From The Bee" by Willie & The Bumblebees, "The Max" by Prophets Of Peace, "Get Up" by The Lewis Connection, and "Rusty McDusty" by Morris Wilson. (Includes album download.)

:::: SOURCE: Dusty Groove ::::

NEW RELEASES - HILDEGARD KNEF, JAZZ ACOUSTIC MACHINE, SHIRLEY SCOTT / CLARK TERRY

HILDEGARD KNEF - REMIXED 12 VERSIONS


German grooves galore – a host of classic tracks from vocalist Hildegard Knef – a remixed with a 21st Century flavor! Think of this one as a German answer to the Verve Remixed series – as Hildegard's older lyrics are layered amidst some heavy beats, keys, and electronics – hardly the instrumentation used in the original recordings, but at times a surprisingly great setting for her voice. Given the slightly cold quality of Knef's singing, the mix with electronics really works well – and titles include "Ich Schreib Dir En Buch", "Das Jahr 2000", "Meine Lieder Sind Anders", "So Oder So Ist Das Leben", "Heute Morgen War Termin", and "Du Bist Das Salz In Der Suppe".

JAZZ ACOUSTIC MACHINE - JAM

A sweet set of funky trio tracks from Jazz Acoustic Machine – and a record that doesn't always live up to their name, but only because it's got so many great keyboards in the mix! Rhythms are tight, and handled in an old school mix of acoustic bass and snapping drums – and the keyboards soar out over the top wonderfully – sometimes with slow-stepping funky lines that recall the glory days of CTI and Kudu Records – other times with a more freewheeling vibe that almost brings back the jazzier side of cosmic London from a few years ago! The group's a great one – exactly what's going right with the Japanese jazz scene in recent years – and titles include "New Step", "Back From The Dark Side", "Sing Without You", "Jazz Acoustic Machine", "Liquid Street", and "He Knows" – which features guest work from Terumasa Hino on trumpet.

SHIRLEY SCOTT / CLARK TERRY - SOUL DUO

A sweet 60s session from the team of Shirley Scott and Clark Terry – musicians who never played together regularly, but who really work wonders on this unique record! Shirley's got that perfect tone on Hammond she hit during her Impulse Records years – a groove that's leaner and cleaner than Prestige sessions of a few years before – and Terry's got that cool mix of muted sounds and soulful undercurrents that really shown during his work with Bob Brookmeyer – a surprisingly great mix here for Scott's organ lines, especially when mixed with the great grooves of the rhythm section! The set features Mickey Roker on drums, and either Bob Cranshaw or George Duvivier on bass – and titles include "Heat Wave", "Taj Mahal", "Clark Bars", "Up A Hair", "Soul Duo", and "Joonji".

:::: SOURCE: Dusty Groove ::::