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JAMAICA FUNK Original Jamaican Funk & Soul 45s (Soul Jazz) There’s always been a hard-bumpin’ undercurrent to reggae, and this brilliant set collects some of the dopest 7-inch sides by the Heptones, Derrick Harriott, Jah Lloyd, Glen Adams, Earl Brown, Winston Wright and others. Too tough.
FANIA DJ SERIES DJ Format (Fania/V2) Someone had the good sense to invite a few top DJs to scour the Fania vaults for unique mix perspectives on New York’s legendary Latin music label. Gilles Peterson went for jazz, Snowboy focused on the Afro-Cuban roots, and Britain’s oldest b-boy, DJ Format, went straight for the badass boogaloo and fuzzed-out funk jams. A surefire party-starter.
TONY ALLEN Afro Disco Beat (VampiSoul) Fela Kuti usually gets credit for every Afrobeat innovation, but it took drummer Tony Allen’s jazz skills to meld highlife with funky R&B, forming the foundation for Fela’s sound. Afro Disco Beat collects Allen’s four classic 70s recordings — Jealousy, Progress, No Accommodation For Lagos and No Discrimination — which rival Fela’s best work from the same period.
SISTER FUNK 2 The Sound Of The Unknown Soul Sisters (Jazzman) If you’re harbouring the misconception that when it comes to funk, “the girls can’t do what the guys do,” you need to check out the booty-shakin’ business from Honey & the Bees, the Fabulettes, Barbara Howard, Althea Spencer and the Hard Drivers.
HOME SCHOOLED The ABCs Of Kid Soul (Numero Group) So getting down is only for adults? Well, the selection of nasty joints by half-pint pummellers like the Man Child Singers, Little Murray and the Mantics, Jr. & His Soulettes and others compiled by the Numero Group for the fantastic Home Schooled comp confirms that funk is also for kids.
