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	Jazz Genre	Nb. Rated	Avg. rating
1	Fusion	121	3.65
2	Avant-Garde Jazz	74	3.91
3	Post Bop	64	4.05
4	Hard Bop	62	3.81
5	Soul Jazz	50	3.42
6	World Fusion	43	3.60
7	RnB	42	3.61
8	Big Band	42	3.81
9	Eclectic Fusion	41	3.72
10	Jazz Related Rock	33	3.74
11	Funk Jazz	31	3.55
12	Progressive Big Band	30	4.02
13	Nu Jazz	30	3.48
14	Bop	28	4.04
15	Funk	25	3.80
16	Pop/Art Song/Folk	25	2.76
17	Third Stream	24	3.90
18	Jazz Related Electronica/Hip-Hop	19	3.42
19	Exotica	18	3.42
20	Latin Jazz	17	3.74
21	Jazz Related Soundtracks	15	3.80
22	Post-Fusion Contemporary	14	3.46
23	Cool Jazz	13	3.69
24	Dub/Ska/Reggae	13	4.04
25	Vocal Jazz	12	3.54
26	Blues	11	3.82
27	21st Century Modern	11	4.23
28	Jazz Related Improv/Composition	10	3.40
29	Swing	8	4.00
30	Latin Rock/Soul	6	3.75
31	African Fusion	6	3.92
32	Acid Jazz	4	3.50
33	Classic (1920s) Jazz	4	4.25
34	Dixieland	1	3.50
35	Afro-Cuban Jazz	1	4.50
36	Bossa Nova	1	3.50
37	Jazz Education	1	3.50

Latest Albums Reviews

BILLY PRESTON A Whole New Thing

Album · 1977 · Funk

Its hard to say why Billy Preston didn’t make a bigger name for himself. He had incredible talent as a keyboard player and singer and was well connected to some of the biggest names in the industry. Thanks to the latest Beatles movie, everyone now knows that Billy was a big part of the band towards the end to the point that George Harrison hoped to make him a full fledged Beatle, unfortunately the others weren’t on board with this idea. Around this same time, Preston had several big RnB/pop hits and just about stole the show in the “Concert for Bangla Desh” concert movie in which Billy outshone big names like Bob Dylan, Leon Russell and George himself. Billy was a star in the early 70s, but as we moved into the later half of the decade, Preston seemed to fade fast.

One of the last records Billy put out before he started having a hard time getting record deals was the funkafied, “A Whole New Thing”, it’s a whole new thing because Billy decided to immerse himself in the funk sounds of the day along with a bit of disco too. The music on here is quite good, several tracks would liven up any party and the instrumentals are a real treat because they show off Preston’s chops on the synthesizer, a relatively new keyboard at the time and probably part of the ‘whole new thing’ concept of the album. Billy’s funk has a good dose of gospel to it which makes him similar to Sly Stone, Graham Central Station and the Isley Brothers. Towards the end of side two, some really hard P-funk sounds start to make their appearance as well.

This is good music and Billy can sing and play with the best of them, so why wasn’t this album bigger. The funk scene of the late 70s was much about fantasy and bigger than life personalities. EW&F had their pyramids and Egyptian mythology, George Clinton had his spaceship and a host of cartoon like characters and James Brown still had his status as a spokesperson for the black community. Media-wise , Preston couldn’t compete and the fact that his squeaky clean music often lacked a certain ‘nastiness’ that is essential to funk, probably didn’t help either. All the same, looking back at ‘Whole New Thing’ from the distance of several decades, it’s easy to see that this album should have gotten more attention. For the crate digger and rare groove fan, some of these instrumentals are worth checking out, especially the two on side two.

8 days ago
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Report #573885

TOWNER GALAHER Towner Galaher Organ Group : Brothers

Album · 2025 · Funk Jazz

“Brothers” is the latest album from veteran jazz and RnB drummer Towner Galaher and has him diving deep into the funk while citing some of his favorite 70s jazz-funk bands such as Tower of Power and Herbie’s Headhunters. The album is called Brothers because Towner has invited some of his oldest band mates, some going back 20 or more years, to join him on this journey back into their late 70s roots. B3 player Jimmy Sanders and bassist Randy Monroe were in Galaher’s first group, and saxophonist Craig Handy and guitarist Marvin Horne have been showing up on some of Towner’s later endeavors. All are capable soloists, but Craig Handy tends to get the lion’s share of solo space with his soulful tenor that may remind some of Michael Brecker or Bennie Maupin.

Many will recognize the song title, “Hit It and Quit It”, as a well known James Brown phrase, and this track has a definite JBs vibe to it, but Galaher actually got the beat for this one from Headhunter’s drummer Mike Clarke. “Piece of the Action” also carries that pure funk sound. Elsewhere on the album we get some variety with the Brazilian groove of “Rio-Lization” and the laid back ballad, “The Diamond Chalice”. “Cahva Bite” mixes things up with an alternation section in a 6/8 Afro-Cuban beat. Album closer, “Seventh Heaven”, is an organ based gospel flavored jam in 7/4 time. When handled correctly, 7/4 time has a built in momentum in that the last note of one phrase is also the first note of the next phrase. The overwhelming B3ness of this track recalls some of Billy Preston’s high energy instrumentals.

20 days ago
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Report #573820

ERIC BELL Vulnerability

Album · 2024 · Post Bop

“Vulnerability” is the debut album from keyboardist Eric Bell, but he is hardly a new comer. Eric has been working as a composer, arranger and instrumentalist for some top names, including Bernard Purdie, Jeff Hamilton and Marvin Smitty Smith. He also works as a composer and arranger for Disneyland’s Phat Cat Swingers. It took Eric only three years to earn his bachelors degree in jazz piano performance at Cal State Long Beach, and after he graduated he was hired as a teacher. “Vulnerability” is based around Eric’s post bop piano trio, but on several tracks they branch out into electronic fusion territory and include guest musicians as well.

Album opener, “Start”, starts things off ambitiously with some free jazz battles backed by broad electronic soundscapes for a huge cinematic texture. From here Eric continues the drama with an unusual version of “The Way You Look Tonight’ that continues the big cinematic approach. Wayne Shorter’s “Witch Hunt” is in a more traditional piano trio format, but the band experiments with the tune by varying the tempo every time they repeat it’s structure. “Fighting the Sun” brings on Dean Arber for some fusion style electric guitar shreds and title track, “Vulnerability” is a gospel flavored art pop ballad with Eric Hirschhorn on saxophone. The album closes with a couple hard bop swingers with “Beautiful Love” being particularly energetic.

“Vulnerability” is a remarkable debut album and the future looks bright for Eric. His jazz chops are impressive, but he is also adept at a broad range of musical styles and large scale arrangements. Bell can thunder like McCoy Tyner, get artsy melodic like Brad Mehldau and down home funky like Les McCann.

33 days ago
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Report #573763

ISAAC HAYES Tough Guys

Album · 1974 · Jazz Related Soundtracks

Considering the massive success that Isaac Hayes had with his “Shaft” soundtrack, you would think that a long career in film scoring lay head of him, but surprisingly enough, he only scored two more movies, “Three Tough Guys and “Truck Turner”. Since Isaac had been working in the ‘blaxploitation’ genre, maybe the film industry didn’t turn to Hayes any more when the blaxploitation fad faded. Whatever the reason, it is a shame that Isaac didn’t score more movies as he is one of the best, especially when it comes to crime soundtracks. In this field he holds up well against other big names such as Quincy Jones, J.J. Johnson and Henry Mancini. It’s also odd that these other soundtracks he composed are not nearly as well known as “Shaft”, because these other soundtracks have the same high caliber of creativity as the celebrated Shaft OST.

Confusingly enough, Hayes’ soundtrack to the movie “Three Tough Guys” was released on an album called just “Tough Guys”, and in the vocals of the title track, it sure sounds like Isaac is singing about two tough guys. Opening track, “Title Theme”, has Isaac singing about the tough guys and this track is a bit silly and finds it’s only value in 70s blaxploitation kitsch, after this track though, it’s all serious well composed orchestrated jazz and RnB. The only musician credits are to the ‘The Movement’, which was Isaac’s backup band and probably made up of members of the Bar-Kays. Along with stellar ensemble work, The Movement also supplies excellent jazzy solos on horns, guitars and keyboards.

Side two opener, “Hung Up on my Baby”, has a solemn introspective and downright spooky guitar riff that was successfully sampled by the Geto Boys for their tale of urban madness, “Minds Playing Tricks on Me”. Top track for all out jamming goes to “Joe Bell” with its intense horn charts, driving rhythm and high end trumpet solo. Slow groove funk number “Buns O Plenty” has an almost cartoonish flavor as it depicts human movement of a more comical nature. Elsewhere, “Tough Guys” features instrumentals that mix jazz, RnB and esoteric lounge music all spiced with bits of psychedlic rock and art pop arrangements

47 days ago
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Report #573670

MARQUIS HILL Composers Collective : Beyond The JukeBox

Album · 2024 · Nu Jazz

Trumpeter Marquis Hill is one of several current jazz artists who is mapping future paths for jazz by looking back to jazz’s African roots. Marquis takes those roots and mixes them with current trends in DrumnBass, neo-soul, hip-hop and modern jazz and creates some of the more happening directions in music today. His latest album, “Composers Collective: Beyond the Jukebox”, utilizes not only his current band, but also an all-star cast of collaborators, many of whom share Marquis’ vision for future jazz.

Opening track, “A Star is Born”, lays down Marquis’ blueprint, African rhythms driven by DnB beats and presented with complex structures and chord changes that avoid any sort of cliché’. The presence of Joel Ross on tuned percussion drives home that permeating African flavor. The DnB rhythms continue for the next couple tracks until we hit, “The Cool”, a neo-soul instrumental that features Hill on layered echoed trumpet lines. Although modern synthesized sounds are used for good effect throughout the album, they tend not to get in the way of the instrumentalists and their prowess on their given instrument.

The many instrumental hip-hop and neo-soul tracks sprinkled through out the album take on an almost library music type presence. “Beyond the Jukebox” is just brimming with useful soundtracks for those looking for a current hip sound. Marquis doesn’t mind reminding us that he can still swing with the best and “Smo Melody …” gets into some high energy post bop with Caroline Davis guesting on saxophone. On “Life Days’, Marquis gets into some African fusion as he trades licks with guitarist Jeff Parker. Vocalist Samora Pinderhughes delivers a classic heart breaking ballad while Christie Dashell sings on neo-soul groove number, “Chef’s Kiss”. “Beyond the Jukebox” is driven with cool modern beats, but this album is much more than another ‘acid jazz’ groove fest. Marquis has serious compositional chops that he puts to good use with arrangements that will hold your interest and keep you guessing as to what is coming up next. Want to hear what is new in jazz, this album is a good start.

54 days ago
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Report #573634

Latest Forum Topic Posts

Posted 4 days ago in Film director David Lynch dies at 78
"Eraserhead" is the most powerful film I have ever seen. I don't know if I would recommend it though, it's almost evil in a way. Still, I've seen it three times but will probably never watch it again.
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You can listen to "Anatomy of a Murder" and check out a review as well:Duke Ellington "Anatomy of a Murder"Review:https://www.jazzmusicarchives.com/album/duke-ellington/anatomy-of-a-murderListen:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cntm7j6R1G0&list=PLMD9X0rJLX6ayC62PJ_VsDdBfmCBSnnQk
Posted 4 days ago in 2024 Avant-Garde and Free Improv Albums
Agusti Fernandez "Aesthetic of Prisms"https://www.jazzmusicarchives.com/album/agusti-fernandez/aesthetic-of-prisms%28live%29 snobb2025-01-15 22:08:43

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Warthur wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Hey dude,

You've banned me from the forums but I can still access the review submission system and site interactions.

If that is intentional then fair enough but if not I thought it'd only be honest to give you a heads up.

Warthur wrote:

more than 2 years ago

js - please clear some space in your PM inbox, I'm trying to send you something.