The Greyboy Allstars Fred Wesley
West Coast Boogaloo

Daptone main man Bosco Mann firmly believes that Lee Fields' 1998 album Let's Get a Groove On played a big part in sparking the modern funk revival of the last two decades. Whether or not that's the case is debatable, but there's no denying the quality of the album - as this fully re-mastered reissue proves. The album's genius lies not in the insanely good (and mostly deliciously heavy) J.B's-like funk backing tracks, but the sheer energy and impassioned quality of Fields' vocal performances. It's one of those albums that not only sounds like it could have been recorded at the turn-of-the-'70s, but should also be in the record box of any serious funk enthusiast. In other words, you need this in your life.

Kendra Morris's Nine Lives, to be released on Karma Chief Records (a division of Colemine Records) in early 2022, marks not only the culmination of the decade since the release of her first LP Banshee, but also a turning point in Kendra's life. Nine Lives heralds the beginning of a new chapter; label, and an evolution to the next level of adulthood. This collection of her original songs encapsulates moments from what could be nine lifetimes. Kendra, while very much a New Yorker and veteran of almost 2 decades on the NYC scene, hails from Florida and aesthetically embodies the broader sense of American culture, bringing to her contemporary sound influences found in music and cinema dating back to the mid 20th century. Her music conjures imagery evocative of road trips to weird and wonderful places. Concurrently a visual artist, filmmaker and animator, Kendra harnesses the feline nine lives metaphor repeatedly. In the context of the chapters of her musical trajectory alone, we see at least 9 lives. From discovering multi-tracking on a karaoke machine as a child, to playing in bands in Florida, moving to NYC and creating music alone on an 8 track, releasing her first 2 LPs on Wax Poetics, releasing her 2016 EP Babble and collaborating with DJ Premier, 9th Wonder, MF Doom, Czarface, Ghostface Killah, Dennis Coffey, and David Sitek, to name a few. The life of this multi-disciplinarian artist contains units of time and story lines through which we can all relate to universal themes of love, loss and overcoming one's fears. Kendra, never ceasing to heed her spiritual calling to continue creating music and art, no matter what, has no plans of slowing down but a belief in only evolving, eager to begin experiencing her next nine lives.

A fantastic 5th album of the sensational french Jazz band from pianist Florian Pelissier, recorded at Rudy Van Gelder Studio (New Jersey, USA), mixed by Jordan Kouby at Question de Son (Paris) and mastered by Frank Merritt at The Carvery (London, UK). Hard Bop 2021 at his best, available as Deluxe Tip-On Vinyl LP!