The return of Funk, Inc., one of the most popular soul jazz combos of the Seventies, is a remarkable story. Formed in 1969 by organist Bobby Watley, the Indiana-based group was signed to Prestige Records two years later by producer Bob Porter. The band’s inspired blend of impassioned jazz improvisation and riveting funk grooves was given a highly enthusiastic reception by disc jockeys and record buyers across the country, as well as by critics.

Minneapolis Genius is the first collection of studio recordings by 94 East, the band name given to a number of tracks recorded by Pepé Willie and Prince with occasional other musicians (it is misleading to consider it an "album", as the tracks have been rearranged many times for reissues under different titles). The collection contained one song with writing input by Prince, Just Another Sucker, and Prince appeared as a musician on all tracks, stemming from recording sessions between 1975 and 1979 (the cover subtitle incorrectly labels the sessions as "the historic 1977 recordings"). Prince had no input into the final release, however, and was upset at its release, leading to a heated discussion between Prince and Pepé Willie in First Avenue in Minneapolis upon its release.

David William Sanborn (born July 30, 1945) is an American alto saxophonist. Though Sanborn has worked in many genres, his solo recordings typically blend jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He released his first solo album Taking Off in 1975, but has been playing the saxophone since before he was in high school. One of the most commercially successful American saxophonists to earn prominence since the 1980s, Sanborn is described by critic Scott Yannow as "the most influential saxophonist on pop, R&B, and crossover players of the past 20 years." He is often identified with radio-friendly smooth jazz, but he has expressed a disinclination for the genre and his association with it. Collection includes: Sanborn (1976); Promise Me The Moon (1977); Heart To Heart (1978); Hideaway (1980); Voyeur (1981); As We Speak (1982).

This album has prominent boogie, soul and funk influences. These had been present in Valle's work since the beginning of the 1970s and would be permanent influences on his music, also being solidified by his work with Leon Ware and Chicago.

Saxuality is the debut album by Candy Dulfer. Dulfer was no stranger to music since she is the daughter of Hans Dulfer, a famous Dutch saxophone player. Prior to her debut album, Candy Dulfer performed with Rosa King at the North Sea Jazz Festival, opened for Madonna during her 1987 concert in Rotterdam, collaborated with Prince on Graffiti Bridge, joined Prince on his 1988 tour and had a #11 hit with "Lily Was Here" together with David A. Stewart. The mainly instrumental album debuted on #4 in the Dutch album chart and was certified Gold. The album peaked at #22 in the Billboard Album Top 100, #27 in the UK Album chart and sold in excess of one million copies worldwide and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album. The album was promoted by a tour in Europe and the United States.

South African expatriate Jonathan Butler isn't really a jazz artist, but his laid-back, slightly jazz-tinged approach to R&B/pop has earned the singer/guitarist/songwriter/producer a lot of supporters in the urban contemporary, adult contemporary, quiet storm, and smooth jazz/NAC markets. Butler has enjoyed a following since the late '70s, although he reached his commercial peak in the late '80s, and he continues to tour and record in the 21st century. Born in Cape Town, South Africa in October 1961, Butler was only a child when he started singing and playing acoustic guitar. Butler, who was the youngest of about 12 children, absorbed a variety of music when he was a kid. He was an admirer of South African stars like singer Miriam Makeba, but he was also hip to the American soul and jazz artists who lived thousands of miles away in the United States. Stevie Wonder became a major influence, and so did former-hard bop-guitarist-turned-R&B/pop-singer George Benson.

Pioneering, magisterial compilation, which turned many of us here onto Mustafa Ozkent, Fikret Kizilok, Erkin Koray, Temiz and co, a decade ago. Still dazzling, fresh, essential. Outstanding and limited compilation of Turkish Jazz-Funk rarities. Grey-area edition, result of 6 years of travelling and record collecting in the meeting points between different music cultures; North Africa, the Bosporus and the far eastern parts of Europe. These two first two releases explores what happened when Western music styles such as modal jazz, bossa nova, fusion and funk met Arabic folk music, tone scales, instrumentation and rhythm structures in the late sixties and seventies in Turkey and Egypt. "Bosporus Bridges" is a compilation of Turkish jazz, bossa, psych, fusion and funk compiled by Lasarus and Roskow. Four hundred years ago Turkey was the centre that connected Islamic, Byzantine and Persian music and even at this time Haydn and Mozart fused Persian tone scales and colour of rhythm into their compositions.

This is where Miles Davis turned funk into jazz, rock into soul, and chaos into Beauty. With a rotating cast of bands featuring keyboardists Keith Jarrett and Chick Corea, guitarist John McLaughlin, percussionist Airto Moreira, saxophonists Gary Bartz and Wayne Shorter, and myriad other explorers, Davis kept up with the times…and surpassed them. He rocked harder than Sly, got funkier than J.B., and turned jazz inside out, slicing the music open till blood spilled on to the floor. More focused than Bitches Brew, which is all the more surprising since it's actually a piecemeal recording from various dates and venues–some in the studio, some on stage, but all very much l-i-v-e.

Since 2014, drummer/bandleader Robert Sput Searight and percussionist Nate Werth have led an incredible collective of musicians brought together as a groove-based funk, hip-hop and jazz group which has amassed a global audience. With Mustard n’Onions – the follow-up to 2018’s critically acclaimed Swagism – the band brings the funk to new levels with an album of originals featuring bassist MonoNeon (Prince), keyboardist Dominique Xavier Taplin (Toto), saxophonist/arranger Sylvester “Sly5thave'' Onyejiaka and more alongside special guest keyboardist and legend Bernard Wright.

Diving deep into the archives of Sony CBS and BMG, we have managed to compile a 3 hour set now available on 3 CD's. The selection runs from very slow (Marvin Gaye), to very fast ending with the Weather Girls

A slick 3-CD gatefold package that walks you through a legendary back catalogue from the iconic 80s funk pop group Level 42. Featuring tracks such as Lessons In Love, Running In The Family, Something About You, Leaving Me Now, The Sun Goes Down (Living It Up) and many more. Level 42 are an English band formed on the Isle of Wight in 1979. They had a number of UK and worldwide hits during the 1980s and 1990s. Their most successful single in the UK was "Lessons in Love", which reached number three on the UK Singles Chart, and number 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, upon its release in 1986. The earlier single, "Something About You", was their most successful single in the United States, reaching number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. After much success as a live and studio band in the 1980s, Level 42's commercial profile diminished during the early 1990s following a series of personnel changes and musical shifts. After disbanding in 1994, the band reformed in 2001.

This incredibly light, fun, and surprisingly hip three-CD collection featured by Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, Django Reinhardt, Chet Baker, Dave Brubeck, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Lee Morgan and many more.

Although Idris Muhammad was employed as a sideman on his share of soul-jazz sessions in the '70s, the drummer hasn't been terribly visible as a leader. So it came as a pleasant surprise when, in 1993, he sat in the driver's seat for My Turn, a decent collection of jazz-pop, soul-jazz, and R&B employing such big names as Grover Washington, Jr. (tenor and soprano sax), Randy Brecker (trumpeter and flügelhorn), Hiram Bullock (electric guitar), and Bob James (electric keyboards). Not unlike the type of project Muhammad would have gone for in the '70s, My Turn is far from straight-ahead hard bop but isn't a so-called "elevator jazz" date either. R&B, pop, and funk considerations are emphasized, but not at the expense of improvisational freedom. Washington and Brecker get in some inspired solos on tunes ranging from pianist Neal Creqe's funky "Dracula" to Washington's congenial "Happenstance," and Muhammad does a nice job combining pop and soul's accessibility with jazz's spontaneity. Those who like their crossover meaty instead of fluffy should enjoy this CD.

A much-needed look at an overlooked side of the genius of Quincy Jones – not his jazz work, not his productions for famous soul artists, but instead his huge legacy of soundtrack material – a part of Q's career that really took off in the 60s! By the time he started working in films, Jones had already had a decade under his belt as one of the hippest arrangers, leaders, and composers in jazz – and the film business really respected those talents, and allowed Quincy to bring some really fresh styles into play – modes that really opened up the vibe of American cinema, and also paved the way for the funky styles of the 70s! As that decade approached, Jones left behind the cinema to take on some more higher-profile records of his own – but all the charms of those great albums can be found here at their roots – in this stunning collection of soundtrack material, some of which has never been on CD. The package is way more than just a sampler – and includes an album's worth of material from the films The Pawnbroker, Slender Thread, Mirage, The Deadly Affair, In The Heat Of The Night, In Cold Blood, Walk Don't Run, The Italian Job, Lost Man, and John & Mary – plus two versions of the love theme from The Getaway, and a bonus CD with 18 tracks – titled Q's highlights, and featuring tracks from his Mercury records – plus more by Billy Preston, Arthur Prysock, Bill Cosby, Shirley Horn, Letta Mbulu, Toots Thielemans, and others. Even features the "Sanford & Son" and "Ironside" themes!

How 'bout a little fusion to liven up your otherwise oppressively hopeless existence? And how did I only just find out earlier today that Bill Frisell plays on a bunch of The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull? Crazy. Discovering that made me want to hear maybe some more obscure Frisell stuff, which led me to Good Buddies. Features, among others, Frisell on guitar, and gratuitous nudity on the album cover.