The term jazz funk was born during the late seventies and early eighties when a bunch of upfront aspiring DJ's from the London and south east of the UK looking for something a little bit different than the run of the mill 'disco' that had dominated the nations dancefloors for almost a decade, and the jocks were hungry for something new - a new sound - and jazz funk was born and a whole new era was created with music that still lives on today. The great thing about this kind of music is that it was 'real' music played by real artists, using real instruments, as opposed to today's computer generated dance rhythms.
OK so you had to have an ear for this kind of music which wasn't confined to just black artists but reached across the musical globe with all kinds of musicians having a bash at creating the ultimate masterpiece. Ironically, it was often the genuine jazz musicians who came up with the best songs as they created them directly from the heart as opposed to those trying to cash in on a new trend. Just like the northern soul songs of that era along with the clubs, and individual DJ's on the scene, the hit records often came from those specialised clubs where the music policy was streets ahead of us lot up here in the northern part of the UK who often had to scour the pages of the late James Hamilton's' column and chart listings in Record Mirror to find out what was being played down south - naturally we followed suit.
Established names within jazz often recorded hit tunes that were initially broken via the club scene and they must thank the UK's DJ's for bringing their recordings to the attention of the wider record buying public and names like Herbie Hancock whose late 70's outing 'I Though It Was You' issued here on CBS that had that catchy vocoder style vocal as well as a catchy chorus line turning into an instant favourite. Latin flavours were mixed in with the jazz to give maximum effect and listening the Azymuth's glorious 'Jazz Carnival' (issued here via RCA) is a stark reminder of how catchy this phenomenon became, and whilst some of these songs are not the easiest to dance to it matters not as the feel good factor rules supreme.
Perhaps the most commercial of the songs can be found on disc one with George Dukes fabulous 'Brazilian Love Affair' just tailor made for those long lazy summer holidays and cruising with the roof down on your convertible. A much in demand and easy to programme at dancefloor level is David Bendeth's 'Feel The Real' issued here in the UK via EMI containing some neat keyboard work complimenting the vocal delivery. If you've heard Incognito's hit song 'Always There' with Jocelyn Brown at the helm then you will love Willie Bobo's jazzed up affair - fabulous.
Disc 2 has some cracking tunes too opening with Gil Scott Heron's mission statement 'The Bottle' which apart from being a great tune has that lovely nagging flute playing in the background with a superb backbeat and no wonder it has found popularity with the modern soul fraternity who keep the legacy of this great song alive. The name Bob James will be no stranger to most via his compositions for US TV shows and his commercial sounding brass laden 'Westchester Lady' could have been tailor made for a Starsky & Hutch type of show. Vibe impresario Roy Ayers is never far away from a good tune and 'Sugar' is as commercial as they get and brings out the best of true musicianship from his ensemble, including a catchy female vocal performance from an unknown female. Billed as Mr Jazz Funk and who could disagree?
Other tracks on this set from Idris Muhammad, Dexter Wansel, Level 42, Eddie Russ, Lonnie Liston Smith and Lesette Wilson but to name a few. 'Jazz Funk Sessions' may have a limited audience but its a lovely throwback to an era when real music, played by real people made the nations dancefloors sit up and listen and set the style for many of today's artists to sample. Additionally, if you are new to this style of music you won't go far wrong with this in your collection - a fabulous introduction to the world of Jazz Funk.
Rating 8/10