Universal Sounds Of America

SOUL JAZZ, 1995

You say: “It opened an entirely new musical vocab and set a bar (sleevenotes, sequencing) they’ve managed to maintain and expand.” The Jazz Dad, via Twitter

A classic example of Soul Jazz being ahead of the Zeitgeist, this early set zeroed in on a strain of jazz where spirituality, Afro-Futurism, the cosmic and the revolutionary all intersected – long before it became a hipster standby. Pharoah Sanders and Sun Ra you may well know, but the depth of knowledge here means Marcus Belgrave and Byron Morris cuts still feel like underappreciated gems. Subsequent comps in the zone – among them Black Fire! New Spirits!, Freedom, Rhythm & Sound, New Thing! and Jazz Is The Teacher, Funk Is The Preacher – are every bit as essential. JM