UK

BBE present the cult classic Paz Are Back from Brtish Jazz collective Paz.Recorded during the summer of 1980 and originally released in 1982 on Spotlight Records, 'PAZ are Back' was the second (and arguably the finest) album by the London jazz collective, founded by vibraphonist, composer and arranger Dick Crouch. Known for their original jazz-funk and latin stylings, the band held a weekly Sunday residency at The Kensington pub in Holland Park for over 8 years, becoming a fixture at many London venues throughout the 70's and 80's, most notably Ronnie Scott's.For PAZ, band leader Dick Crouch assembled a group of the finest jazz musicians working in London at the time. Piano, keyboard and synth player Geoff Castle was a mainstay of the band throughout the years, as well as playing and recording with George Coleman, Ian Dury & Georgie Fame to name but a few. He also composed the highly original and energetic track 'Moonchild', featured on this album.Sax and flute player Ray Warleigh enjoyed a successful three decade career (sadly, he passed away in 2015), playing alongside Dusty Springfield, Marianne Faithfull, Scott Walker and Stevie Wonder as well as 9 years with PAZ. The full breadth of his musical dexterity is on display here, from the gritty alto sax solos featured on 'Laying Eggs' to his eerie home-made panpipes on 'Horrors'.Guitarist Ed Speight also worked extensively with Ian Dury and the Blockheads, as well as performing 'Tubular Bells' with Mike Oldfield on the QEH and BBC2. Now an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music, Ed taught guitar and keyboard harmony between 1988 and 2010. Bass player Ron Mathewson is best known for his years spent working with Ronnie Scott, but he also recorded with Stan Getz, Joe Henderson, Ben Webster and Bill Evans (to whom the stunning 'I Can't Remember' is dedicated). His absence on one album track is noted in its title 'Where is Ron?', so called because he realised the song required no bassline (as the original liner notes stated: "this awareness of when not to play is part of his genius").Appearing with the band for the first time on 'PAZ are Back', drummer Frank Gibson was perhaps better known for accompanying Leo Sayer, David Essex and Dusty Springfield, although jazz was always his first love. Following his time in the UK and touring the world, Frank returned to his native New Zealand, where he won three 'Best Jazz Album' awards and performed at the 1990 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony.Capturing a group of prodigiously talented musicians at the height of their powers, 'PAZ Are Back' features timeless original compositions from almost all the band members, as well as a unique cover of 'Everywhere Calypso' by Sonny Rollins and a truly frenetic, heavily improvised version of jazz standard 'Dancing In The Dark'. A band who remained steadfastly resistant to being pigeonholed, incorporating a multitude of influences before 'fusion' became fashionable, PAZ's music stands the test of time magnificently, as evidenced by the staggering demand for original copies of this album.Remastered and packaged with the original artwork, BBE are excited to make the magic of PAZ available to a new generation of fans.– Album tracks sampled by Madlib & DJ Vadim among others– Copies of the original fetching 3 figure sums on Discogs– Featuring a group of London's all-time finest jazz musicians at the height of their powers– Full press , radio & social media campaign

Strut present the first in a series of essential original LP reissues exploring rare and under-rated African, Latin and Caribbean music classics, curated by Duncan Brooker. In January 2017, the series kicks off with ‘Sugar Daddy’, an experimental highlife / disco outing by Nigerian highlife guitarist Joe King Kologbo. Building his career as a composer and player with Eastern Star Dance Band at their residency at the Atlantic Hotel in Aba, Eastern Nigeria, Joe King Kologbo was forced to flee to Ghana when the Biafran War broke out in 1967. As his son Oghene recalls, “when war came, everything just scatter. He lost his house, everything.”Joe King played with a variety of bands in Ghana including Real Ruby’s, a jazz highlife big band, before returning to Lagos in 1971. By the time he recorded the ‘Sugar Daddy’ LP for the tiny Electromat label in 1980, he was one of the older musicians on the circuit. Oghene Kologbo remembers, “My Mum used to say, ‘I hope you don’t go and play guitar everywhere and play around, don’t go and be Sugar Daddy!’ All my father’s friends nicknamed him ‘Sugar Daddy’ so he did the song in a fun way. He was a nice man. He never did ‘playboy’.” “Since he was based in the East during his early days, he was not as well known nationally as some of the other highlife players of the time,” continues Oghene,”so it’s nice that this album is coming out again. It brings back good memories.” Joe King Kologbo’s ‘Sugar Daddy’ is released in its original artwork and features new interviews with Oghene Kologbo and Sonny Akpan of The Funkees. The album comes remastered by The Carvery, with vinyl pressed at Pallas.- First ever reissue of sought-after Nigerian highlife / disco original LP- Officially licensed from Joe King Kologbo estate- Includes the killer 15-minute DJ track ‘Sugar Daddy’- New package features all original artwork and new interviews with Oghene Kologbo and Sonny Akpan of The Funkees

A Boogie classic from '81 on the legendary SAM label out of New York city! K.I.D. is the production pseudonym of British library record stalwart and Munich Machine member Geoff Bastow. Bastow's career has been an extremely colourful one seeing him work with various artists including Amanda Lear, Elton John, Donna Summer and La Bionda amongst many others. ''Hupendi Muziki Wangu?'' is Swahili for ''You Don't Like My Music?'' and the track has long been a classic with underground Disco/Boogie aficionados for many years and has been a staple in the record bags of many legendary jocks since it's release 35+ years ago. On the flipside we are treated to ''It's Hot'', another sleek cut of early 80's Boogie perfection aimed squarely at the dancers. Truthfully though, the A-side steals here the show here, take a listen - you'll see what we mean! Reissued in conjunction with SAM records, New York City. Fully remastered with all original 1981 label artwork intact.