Back catalogue: Funk Soul & Jazz

Notes: Introducing Jazzman's own exclusive range of brand new 7" hard-wearing wooden record cases, in equal measure stylish and functional, solving the age-old problem of storing, transporting & displaying your precious 45s once and for all!

The PRO Large holds 150 x 7" records, and is available in your choice of 2 finishes: Dark Walnut or Graphite Grey.

This new updated design is again custom made to an exact specification in limited numbers. They don't just look the business, they've been built for professional use and will last for many years to come.

Ugly, bulky industrial cheap n' nasty mass-produced flight cases they are not! No flimsy plastic, chipboard, MDF or cheap cardboard either! These cases are hand-crafted from ethically-sourced & hard-wearing wood, the ultimate 7" record cases for all serious record collectors & professional DJs.

Each case has been hand-made in the EU from wood that has been sourced from managed and sustainable forests. They have been custom built to Jazzman's exact specifications before being stained and lacquered for a durable finish:

The lid is fully removable via detachable metal hinges so you have unfettered access to your records
Interior lined with soft & durable black felt to add both extra cushioning and a luxurious feel. Each interior is also embossed once with Jazzman's shiny 45CASE logo
All corners made with extra strong interlocking dovetail joints
Dual metal catches on the front are lockable with padlocks (not included) to keep your records secure from unwanted attention
Strong metal brackets feature on all corners to further protect against knocks & damage
Wood sourced from managed and sustainable forests
The base has 4 sturdy rubber feet to protect the bottom of the case when standing
Each cases has dual compartments, securely holding up to 150 of your prized 7" records. The interior dimensions will also accommodate double-bagged 45s.

Important note: due to the innate variability of wood grain, each box is unique and will differ slightly to the image shown. Records are for illustration purposes only and are not included!

Details:

Exterior size: 420 x 220 x 220mm
Weight when empty: 3.2kg (7lb)
Weight with 150 records: 11kg (24lb)

"I'm really impressed with this box, nobody's made them like this for years, a nice new home for my best stuff" - Mark 'Butch' Dobson (World #1 Northern Soul DJ)

"Jazzman are already known for making great records, well done to them for making the nicest record boxes I've seen in years" - Norman Jay MBE

"Sturdy and with a classic design, this is the best 7" box I have come across" - Eddie Pillar (Acid Jazz)

"Northern, Funk, Rockabilly, Garage - these are the boxes to keep 'em in, f*** marvellous!" - The Legendary Keb Darge

Review: London artist cktrl has been making moves since his 2017 mixtape turned plenty of heads. Last year there was his 'Robyn' EP and an appearance with a cameo in Beyonce's 'Black Is King' film and now comes his latest on Touching Bass. The producer and multi-instrumentalist shows off his knack for mixing contemporary-classical and electronic R&B here on an EP that has a fine collaboration with GRAMMY Award-nominated singer-songwriter Mereba on the title tune. This outing is an exploration of tender love with emotive sounds and inspiration taken from "past hurt."

Review: Sangre Joven was originally a side project that was set up to release covers of international disco and funk hits for Discos MAG. The collective was started in Peru in 1974 by sax player Nilo Espinosa who also assembled the Nil's Jazz Ensemble after spending years playing in a jazz quintet in Berlin. 'Zamba Zamba' is a tsingle from 1974 that is a true-to-the-original cover of 'Samba Samba' by Colombian brothers Elkin & Nelson. It brings plenty of exotic sounds with uptempo Latin vibes, elements of descarga and boogaloo and more all served up with a funky rock twist.

Review: Last year, the Expansions label kicked off a wonderfully intriguing 10" series featuring classics from soul music's rich canon complemented by contemporary cover versions and so far it's seen Blue Note troupe Quasimode tee off against Johnny Hammond and Bembe Segue challenge Norman Connors. A third edition duly arrives and hints Expansions are really enjoying the creative challenge the concept allows them with the jazz funk classic "Zaius" from Eddie Russ joined by a cover from the celebrated UK funk veterans Incognito. Originally appearing on the 1976 LP See The Light, "Zaius" is a blinding example of why Russ is described a master of the keyboard and it's complemented well by Incognito's B Side cover which appears on vinyl for the first time. Don't sleep!

Review: "You've never really lived" is usually the kind of thing one might hear in a school playground, but Frederick Knight meant it to lament a close love interest's lack of ever having fallen in love. "Do you know how it feels to fall in love?" trills the Alabama soul great's distinctively high vocals, as a complex yet lulling backing beat sends us bowling straight down the love train's tracks. Fun fact: these tracks are never-heard-before rarities, preceding the artist's biggest run of commercial success in the mid 1970s. The B, as well, is a highly sampleable and minimal synth-soul affair, with honest sonics and sad themes to boot.

Review: Released in 1971 and written and recorded by Dave Hamilton (one of Motown's most prolific and influential session players), Sugar Billy Garner plays the consummate band leader over a relentless groove that rolls with drama. Billy gets sweatier, the guitars get busier, the dynamic gets heavier and heavier... So heavy it rolls into a second part. Primed for the floor, it still hits hard 44 years after its release.

Review: Des Moines in Iowa is usually best known as the hometown of prolific writer Bill Bryson, but it is also the small-town which gave rise to this obscure R&B outfit. Split Decision Band deserve to be up there with any of their peers but for whatever reason they only realised this one single back in 1978. It came on the local Network label and has since take on cult status-meaning this EP often fetches high prices amongst avid soul collectors and for good reason. The a-side is a big, swirling and feel good tune with lush instrumentation and 'My Love Just For You' slows it down to a more sentimental sound.

Review: Many disco-era modern soul collectors regard, Larom Baker's "You're The Best", which initially appeared in 1978 on an impossible to find, single-sided 7" single, as one of the style's genuine "Holy Grail" records. It's good news, then, that Athens Of The North has secured the rights to reissue it, releasing the full studio version (rather than the shorter edit that was released all those years ago) for the very first time. It's a genuine gem, with Baker's deliciously breezy West Coast soul vocal seemingly floating over a killer backing track rich in hazy horns, bustling slap bass and crunchy Clavinet lines. Turn to the flipside for the more disco-minded "Train Of Thought", one of a string of recently discovered Baker recordings that form the basis of a forthcoming album of previously unreleased tracks.

Review: This excellent 7" single from Athens Of The North boasts more desirable deep funk business. This time dusty-fingered digger Euan Fryer has secured the rights to a sought-after seven from Papa Bear & His Cubs, a long-serving combo whose sole "45" has long been a sought-after item amongst serious soul and funk heads. "You're So Fine" may sound like it was recorded in a cement mixer on a cheap portable tape recorder, but musically it's soul bliss - a wonderfully languid, loved-up song blessed with a superb lead vocal and languid instrumentation. "Sweetest Thing On This Side Of Heaven" is, if anything, even more dewy-eyed - a seductive slow jam whose saccharine lyrics are delivered with heartfelt passion.

Review: Izipho Soul and Rena Scott have had a long and fruitful relationship that continues with this new 7". It offers up two new takes on a classic tune from Scott which tells of 'the inevitable frustrations of a long distance love affair.' The original is a big soul number with plenty of golden synths and mid-tempo 80s drums that hark back to the heyday of r&b. On the flip is The Nigel Lowis mix of 'You're So Far Away' which strips away some of the noise and makes the track a deeper, smoother, more seductive soul jam with a rather familiar baseline.

Review: Dave Welding's Soul Junction has another great package here from The Hill District. This was a group of working musicians that was initially assembled by bassist Walter "Sonny" Hughes who was impressed with them after seeing them rehearse one afternoon. They only ever managed to record one 45, however, and it is this one, and it has overmuch remained hard to find over the years. Hill District's 'You're Scared Of Falling In Love' is glorious sunny and carefree soul with gentle rhythms and great vocal work. Richie Merrett then steps up on the flip with 'You'll Always Have Yesterday Standing By' which is much more verily sentimental and pained.

Review: Second time around for Kon's fabulous re-rubs of Twilight's slept-on 1986 disco-boogie gem 'You're In Love', which first dropped on seven-inch almost a decade ago. Vinyl copies of the 45 are hard to come by, so this Ubiquity Records re-issue is most welcome. Kon's takes stick closely to the original - these are multi-track tweaks, rather than revolutionary remixes - while subtly beefing up the groove and highlighting the band's weighty synth bassline. On the A-side you'll find the full vocal take - all sweet vocals, crispy disco drums, colourful synths and clipped, Chic style guitar licks - while the flip-side 'Dub' is a marginally more minimalist, groove-focused affair, with delay-laden vocal snippets and swirling instrumental textures echoing across the sound space.

Review: Numero Group has another of their superb soul gems here from former Mind & Matter bandmates James "Jimmy Jam" Harris and Michael Dixon. The duo teamed up in 1978 for this gospel-boogie banger which first came on the private Mad label, so is now mad hard to find. 'You're Everything' is a classy dancer with a big heart and those Good worshipping vocals taking things to new heights. The flip is no slouch either and keeps the grooves coming with 'You're All I Need' another timeless classic that will improve any set and record collection no end.

Review: The Essence Of Life is very much listening to the sort of sublime soul music that is always offered up by the Epsilon label if you ask us. This latest limited edition 45rpm features their 'You're An Angel' which is one of the many tunes that made the group such favourites back in the seventies. They formed in Charlotte North Carolina at Johnson C Smith University and are made up of a pair of basketball players who were allegedly overheard singing in the shower and asked if they wanted to form a group. They went on to perform with plenty of stars of the day and as you can hear from this 7" their falsettos are to die for.

Review: Philadelphia International Records was of course a goldmine for irresistible soul sounds. One of the main men responsible for that was the legend Lou Rawls. This lovely new 12" brings together a couple of his signature sounds with subtle remix work by Mike Maurro. You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine' and 'See You When I Git There' have been taken from the original master tapes and given some modern dance floor touches to make them essential all over again. The a-side in particular has superb drums and aching vocals that stay with you a long time.

Review: Two Larry Banks produced soul gems from the 60s... Kenny Carter's "You'd Better Get Hip Girl" is straight out of the Motown playbook; raw emotions, rich harmonies and superb orchestration it's a ballad of the highest order. "My Life Is No Better" carries the same lamented sentiment but delivers it in a much more uptempo fashion a la Delfonics. Powerful.

Review: Ooof! Two forever-scorching disco gems from the one and only Cheryl Lynn. This extended version of the screaming funklet "You Saved My Day" has only been available on rare promo, while the full version of her seminal party jam "To Be Real" enjoys pride of place on the B. 40 years young and still untouchable.

Review: BDQ Records is the outlet for jam quintet BunnDebrettQuintet, who emerged out of 90s acid jazz titans Mother Earth. Their sound has refocused on a raw and rasping strain with a live, in-the-room electricity which comes through brilliantly on this new single with Lydia Sharpe. Taking a few cues from a Led Zeppelin classic, Sharpe strikes a fierce, sultry figure on top of the sizzling hot Hammond organ vamps and low slung rhythm section. It sounds dangerous like a niche 50s cut, but there's plenty of meat on the bones of the production, while the familiar vocal hooks will go down a storm with a busy dancefloor.

Review: Who doesn't like a sentimental soul 7" in their bags to drop as that magical end-of-the-night tune? Well not us, that's for sure, and this one more than fits that bill. Paul Kelly's buttery smooth vocals and romantic overtones make 'You Make Me Tremble' a real classic of the genre. The chords are warm, the drums gentle, and the sentiments intimate. The flip side of this 45rpm from Soul4real is 'Come With Me' which is even more heartbroken, with its quivering strings and oh-so-delicate vocals.

Review: As a result of business-related difficulties, Dee Ervin only released two sides on Hotlanta, but these as yet unearthed recordings match anything he might have created in a more "successful" career. By 1974 he was as much a composer as artist, but he excels at both on these two numbers, both of which were fully produced and ready for release. 'You Make Me Happy' is a terrific uptempo dance track that recently featured on Masterpieces Of Modern Soul; Vol 6; 'Give Me One More Day', meanwhile, was issued erroneously in 1975 as a Tribe LP track on ABC, but the session details clearly have it as a Dee Ervin recorded number.

Review: Two Arista classics from 79/78 respectively, the cult (not to mention heavily sampled) charms of Pittsburgh soul queen Hyman are presented immaculately right here on this heavyweight vinyl double-A. "You Know How To Love Me", taken from the 79 album of the same name, is a straight up disco stomper that should be recognisable to all with its distinctive horn fill and rousing backing vocals while "Living Inside Your Love" (from her 78 album Somewhere In My Lifetime) is a slinkier, sultry affair with some sizzling scat vocal flare and harmonies that will have you weak at the knees. It's all love.

Review: Another mighty fine reissue here from the masters of just that in the Original Gravity label. It features distorted organ loveliness here that continues with their practice of putting out new music in the style of old soul 7"s. On this split-flip 45, two of the most eminent soul vocalists out today share a side each. St. Louis singer Raye Cole helms the A-side, with her energetic number 'You Gotta Set Me Free' stomping on forward with a shaker-clapping, horn-heavy blues swing. Rachel Maxann - perhaps another alias similar to Nestor Alvarez - brings up the B on a finger-clicking alternate take on 'You Gotta Set Me Free'.

Review: There's a reason that original copies of Marcia Hines' 1976 single 'You Gotta Let Go' change hands for genuinely eye-watering sums online: it's genuinely brilliant. One of the 'Holy grails' of Australian soul and funk, the track was originally released on a tiny Sydney-based label and, bar plays from a few local DJs, largely sank without trace. Happily Selector Series has delivered this much-needed reissue. As with the original 45, it pairs the astonishingly good 'You Gotta Let Go' - a classic chunk of soaring, orchestra-sporting sing-along dancefloor soul from the era when disco had yet to be defined - with the sweet and cheery 'Don't Let The Grass Grow', which sounds like a long-lost Jacksons record featuring a very young Michael Jackson.

Review: Bobby Thurston's 'You Got What It Takes' is a soaring, spiralling disco classic whose , squelchy synth-bass and highly addictive horn refrains are not only instantly familiar, but also never fail to raise the temperature out on the dancefloor. This coloured vinyl reissue, released as part of Unidisc's ongoing 40th anniversary series, offers up both the original 12" mixes (vocal and instrumental), as well as a fresh, stretched-out rework from re-edit master the Reflex that's worth the admission price on its own. He naturally makes the most of the original's key elements, building up the groove before unleashing Thurston's vocals, the celebratory horn riffs and - most pleasingly - the track's spacey, life-affirming synth solo.

Review: French label Battle Weapons does it again here with another superb reissue of a dynamic fusion of vintage soul-jazz and catchy beats. They come from Hardly Subtle featuring Peggy Lee, whose iconic vocals soar over Hardly's masterful production to utterly alluring effect. The track pulsates with a gently infectious energy and infuses organic drums with modern electronic rhythms. It is a great one among many from Peggy Lee, and on the flipside you're treated to a superb Wonderlove edit of her sumptuous take on the Otis Reding classic 'Sittin On The Dock Of The Bay'.

Review: Mountain Records are a new funk label, pushing 45's cut with new funk tinged with a modern production sheen. Two label mainstays decorate each side of this one: for the A, Double A asks 'You Feel Alright?' We certainly do, not least thanks to the artist's heavy locking down of sampled big boom drums, funky grooves and evil laughter. The Gaff meanwhile offers up a breakbeat banger to the altar, letting up on bass for a weird, flauting finish. 7"s collectors, watch out.