New Orleans Funk

SOUL JAZZ, 2000

You say: “A soundtrack to many bus rides in SE London for me 20 years ago, gazing across the Camberwell bayou.” Allotment Slim, via Twitter

For all their globetrotting eclecticism, it’s possible to locate two critical epicentres of Soul Jazz compilation activity: Kingston, Jamaica and New Orleans, Louisiana. Our informal poll of the MOJO massive on Twitter and Facebook put this infallible partystarter as the ultimate Soul Jazz comp. As ever, the mix of canonical essentials – Dr. John, The Meters, Allen Toussaint – and cratedigging surprises – The Explosions’ super-rare Garden Of Four Trees – ensures a tracklisting packed with both specialist knowledge and anti-elitism. And naturally there’s plenty more to explore, with three more volumes of New Orleans Funk and the Saturday Night Fish Fry follow-up, too. End-to-end good times guaranteed. JM