Black Jazz

by Keith in Reviews

Certain labels are known for their quality and are spoken of in revered tones: Desco Records (the precursor to current retro-funk labels Daptone and Soul Fire), Rawkus (in the mid-90s a near-guarantee of dope hip-hop) and Blue Note (revered in the jazz world, at least their pre-1980s records).  And when you collect records, search for beats or both (as I do) you become familiar with additional record labels. Digger’s favorites. The ones known for their incredible music, incredible hard-to-find beats and songs ready for the sampling… or both. People (James Brown’s imprint and sure-shot funky guarantee). Fania (the salsa giant). And, a true treat for the aficionados and beatdiggers, possibly the digger’s favorite of ALL digger’s favorites …. Black Jazz.

To speak of Black Jazz records is to speak of what many view as the finest jazz recorded. Over the years, Black Jazz developed a mystique I haven’t come across with any other record labels.  Sure, People is dope – but everyone knows who James Brown is, and a lot of music from People either became popular or served as backing tracks to popular hip-hop in hip-hop’s formative years.  But Black Jazz? More Jersey Devil / Snufalopagus than the others.  From the fact that  the records are hard to find/expensive, to their treasures of beats and samples for the aspiring producers, down to the stark black/white design of all their album covers, Black Jazz became an unusual commodity to a lot of record collectors – a ‘holy grail’ Record LABEL, not just the usual ‘holy grail’ record.

I remember when I finally found my first Black Jazz record, ‘The Skipper’ by Henry Franklin – I did a quintuple-take when I came across it in the bin.  Like, wait – these records exist? They aren’t just fake album titles and albums without real music behind them, a la Mingering Mike? Wow! I took it home and listened to it and was not disappointed.  Most collectors will tell you that you set yourself up for disappointment when you chase records – many legendary records are a bit of a letdown after all of the time and money spent acquiring them – but this one? Worth the wait and the cash. First listening to it I thought to myself  “If aliens landed right here, first off I’d tell them I pass on the whole probing thing (plus missing time is overrated too, you can get the same effect drinking).  Then I’d show them a Black Jazz record and tell them This is what jazz is“. Nuff respect to Blue Note for sure, but this is quintessential jazz to me. Elaborate playing, funky backing tracks,  all well-recorded and perfect for either background or attentive listening. Great, great stuff.

Oh by the way – Did I mention Black Jazz just reissued their entire catalog? Yes, their entire catalog.  It’s all available, right there ready to be discovered with minimal effort.  The same great tracks of dope jazz, but no $70+ priced records.  No exhaustive hunts (Damn, you all have it easy! I had to track this stuff down, plus walk 8 miles uphill to school – both ways).  It’s not that massive of a catalog, but based on the two records I have and the other ‘best of’ CD I just tracked down, it has potential to be the strongest top-to-bottom Record Label catalog I’ve ever heard.  Plus, it’s a large enough catalog to take some time to get through.

For the last week I’ve been wondering what the hell to write a blog about – nothing seemed to work just right, you know? Well, this makes blog-writing easy. If you’re a fan of good jazz or just good music, I highly recommend you check out what Black Jazz has to offer.