Earl Klugh – Spellbound
Hiroshima – Lion Dance
Bobby Humphry – Chicago Dawn
Lonnie Smith – Babbitt’s Other Song
Donald Byrd – Lansana’s Priestess
Ronnie Foster – Happy Song
Lonnie Liston Smith – Quiet Moments
Heath Bros – For The Public
Azymuth – Jazz Carnival
Hank Crawford – Love Won’t Let Me Wait
Joe Sample – Melodies Of Love
Rodney Franklin – The Groove
Bob James – Westchester Lady
Grover Washington Jr – Tell Me About It Now
Pressure – Can You Feel It
Watsonian Institute – Follow Me
About Some Of The Tunes.
Hank Crawford’s take on Major Harris’s big soul hit Love Won’t Make Me Wait is from the album I Hear A Symphony. Released in 1975 it was part of the golden years of the Kudu label an offshoot of CTI records run by much respected producer Creed Taylor.
Players on the track included Eric Gale on guitar Fred Wesley Trombone Percussion Ralph MacDonald and shaking the shaker and tambourine Idris Muhammad.
Lonnie Smith and Grover Washington Jr with tracks in this jazz funk 40 selection recorded albums with Kudu. The CTI/Kudu roster is a who’s who of great players and singers. George Benson, Bob James, Freddie Hubbard, Esther Phillips, Patti Austin, Grant Green, Antonio Carlos Jobin and Deodato are just some of them and probably in your record collection.
The Watsonian Institute were a Johnny Guitar Watson collective playing, from time to time, funky jazz tinged tunes like Follow Me from the album EDP. Johnny Guitar Watson remains one of my all time favourite interviews on the BBC London Saturday show and I just wish I had kept a recording.
Always much requested on the jazz funk 40 the Grover Washington track in this selection is one of his own compositions from the 1979 album Paradise recorded in Philadelphia.
The Pressure track is the result of a Ronnie Laws project. He co wrote and produced Can You Feel It for an album called Pressure released in 1979.
Thanks again to the C90 cassette and the patience of long time Saturday show listener Andy Hardy from St Albans for keeping a written record of Jazz Funk 40 playlists.
I’m 55, used to listen to your Saturday lunchtime show in the 80’s. Sunday nights you played more of this type of music. Sunday nights was ‘our time’ as a married man & woman back then and you entertained my wife and I very nicely with some selected romantic tunes (Lamont Dozier – Why Can’t We Be Lovers, Al Green – How Can You Mend A Broken Heart, Merry Clayton – When The World Turns Blue etc. to name but a few). I’m not married now but those tunes are still great! I attended 6 Caister Soul weekenders where you played the mainstream funk & dance tunes for the 3,000 sweaty, happy crowd! We were known as the Welwyn Toxicated crew with our printed t-shirts and baseball caps! Also the royalty, southgate. I don’t think there are many young people that appreciate, soul, jazz funk, disco these days! We are becoming a select few! They think uptown funk is funk music!! Still it is a start and if more young ears can get tuned into that sort of sound then there is hope that they may be open minded to some more. Anyway keep up the good work.
Awesome memories its just so important to get these track names and memories down for future posterity keep up the good work Robbie!
As always it’s good to get an insight and read about some of these tunes and the comments of others who were listening and were at some of the same events and gigs way back in the 70’s and early 80’s. Iam looking forward to the next one.
Cheers Robbie.
Regards
Mark McCarthy
Hi Robbie. I was an avid Sunday nighter, and recently dusted off the Unlimited album for the late Roger Troutman. You spinning the diversity of “I want to be your man”, “been this way before”, and “composition to commemorate” is what made your show unmissable. That, and of course the best jingle ever “If it moves -Funk it!” Keep up the good work.
Dave
Robbie – thanks for the mention.
I have all the tracks listed and many more and might put them all together as an album on YT.
Any chance you could make a comeback on JazzFM, now they are back nationally?
Perhaps you could fill in for Peter Young as he’s off for a while?
You are sorely missed.
Regards
Andy Hardy (aka “ahhhhhsoul”)
Robbie – it’s 9th June so Happy Birthday!
I’ve recreated a “Jazz Funk 40” on YT as your birthday dedication.
If you search YT for “Jazz Funk 40” and click on your own picture
you will be able to hear it – let me know what you think.
Andy Hardy (aka “ahhhhhsoul”)