Back catalogue: Funk Soul & Jazz

Review: Monika Linges' voice sways between jazz and bossa nova with a natural ease that makes it seem like she was born for this. But her latest track pushes things furtherigently drawing you in with a relaxed yet intricate arrangement, before layering in subtle harmonies and rhythmic flourishes. There's a warmth to the way she sings, each note spilling effortlessly into the next, hinting at a deeper emotional core. It's a performance that feels personal yet universal, bringing the complexities of her influences into a fresh light. By the time it fades, you're left with the feeling of something timelessia quiet reflection on both genre and soul.

Review: Original Gravity, Luchito Rodriguez and Nestor Alvarez return with yet two more Latin groove versions of funk and soul classics, emulating two sounds not yet brought together enough. 'Dap Walk' is a shot-by-shot cover of the song of the same name by Ernie And The Top Notes - a slick and slippery interpretation that translates the original AAVE of the song's intro into Spanish. 'El Barrio', meanwhile, opts for 70s crime thriller vibes, instrumentally verging on expressionism via djembe, brass sections and vibraslaps.

Review: A stellar mix of DJ-able breakbeat and northern soul from Luchito Rodriguez and Nestor Alvarez, two of our favourite contemporary funk artists active today (as long as we're certain of their identities, that is). This limited 7" contains two versions of the same killer track: 'Soy Un Hombre' reincarnates the triumphant 'achievement' of manhood through carnal brasses and kettle drums, in a quiver-inducing cover version of Spencer Davis Group's classic track 'I'm A Man'.

Review: This Juno colour vinyl exclusive finds Linda Lyndell serve up her own majestic cover of the classic "What A Man." Her vocal is smooth and buttery but also laden with gravitas, while the sweeping horns and jazzy keys all around her help to lift the spirits. On the flip is an ice cold slice of funk from Billy Hawks in the form of his "(O Baby) I Do Believe I'm Losing You". It's raw soul that glides at high speed with plenty of hip swinging claps. This is a much sought after reissue that will shift quick, so make sure you do too.

Review: 'The Creator Has a Masterplan (Peace)' might have been performed beautifully by Louis Armstrong but it was written by Pharoah Sanders and Leon Thomas. Sanders was the first to record and release it on February 14, 1969 and it has since been covered by the likes of Don Cherry, Krokodil, The Dynamics, Lord Echo and many more artists right up to the present day. Here we get the Leon Thomas versions from 1969 as well as the one he recorded alongside Louis a year later. Two sublime sounds that make the whole world feel at peace.

Review:  Lady Blackbird is the first singer to grace Foundation Music, and you'd best be paying attention to this vital new voice in the realm of soul jazz. Hailing from LA and blessed with a smoky voice to rival some of the greats, one listen to 'Blackbird' is all you need to be utterly captivated. The sultry playing from Deron Johnson, Jonathan Flaugher, Jimmy Paxson and Troy Andrews perfectly matches Blackbird's arresting voice, gliding between stormy explosions and the softest of touches to match the mood. Black Acid Soul is perhaps the perfect description for the music, shot through with a streak of 60s psych but taking it to some dark corners - a true expression rendered in sumptuous, noirish hues.

Review: Slang Spirituals is soul singer and producer Lady Blackbird's latest full-length album, following up the EP of the same name released earlier in 2024. A collaborative wall of sound, scaled in collaboration with producer and guitarist Chris Seefried - as well as her very own, devoted session musical retinue, consisting of Kenneth Crouch (Keys), Tamar Barzilay (drums) and Johnny Flaughers (bass) - this bright, yet equally, extimately melancholic record is a twin paean to two superficially opposed themes: soul-purgation and soul-complication. 'Let Not' and 'Purify' make up the former front face, heliolatrically facing up to the brighter sides of life with yellowed guitar fuzzes and boundless vocals, while B-siders 'Whatever His Name' and 'When The Game Is Played On You' prefer to explore the darker side of the moon, deploying various mellotrons, pump organs and cross-sticks to acoustically muse on the inverse pains that are betrayal, longing, and graft.

Review: Jazz saxophonist Tony Lavorgna, sometimes known as Captain Bad, recorded Chameleon with the St Thomas Jazz Quartet in 1982. The title track is a cover of Herbie Hancock's classic from Head Hunters, given a fresh lick on this superlative album of incredible renditions of long time favourites. Ray Charles' 'Georgia On My Mind', War's 'The World Is A Ghetto' and Dave Brubeck's 'Take The 'A' Train' all get a look in, given a soulful treatment which goes down very smooth indeed. On the strength of these, it's a shame the group never recorded more music together, covers or otherwise.

Review: Those without a deep-rooted knowledge of obscure jazz collectives may assume that the London Experimental Jazz Quartet hailed from London, England, but in fact the short-lived outfit were actually based in London, Ontario. The collective recorded and self-released just one album way back in 1974, Invisible Roots, which has finally been given the reissue treatment. Much of the music sits somewhere between avant-garde jazz of the period and the post-bop sounds of the mid-to-late 1960s, with highlights including the jaunty, life-affirming complexity of opener 'Time is of the Essence', the soulful swing of 'Destroy The Nihilist Picnic', the cacophonous free-jazz experimentalism of 'Ron Martin Special With Mustard', and the becalmed brilliance of 'Jazz Widow Waltz'.

Review: Following the success of their first semi-improvised session last year - recorded and released for posterity on Jaiyade Sessions Volume 1 - Anglo-Danish collective London Odense Ensemble reunited for a second stint in the studio. The results are, naturally, impressive, with the five-piece (saxophonist and multi-wind instrumentalist Tamar Osborn, keys-man Al MacSween, bassist and guitarist Martin Rude, drummer Jakob Skott and guitarist/producer Jonas Munk) trading solos over heavyweight grooves and spaced-out electronics. It's undeniably a jazz record, but one that also offers nods to spiralling psychedelia, acid-fried funk and their mutual love of West African music.