Real Gone Organic Grooves 6 Items

One of the great, lost albums of Philly Soul! And we mean really lost... we had to go to Italy and pay close to 500 euros to snag a copy for artwork. Jean Davis, Gwen Oliver, and Cassandra Wooten were known as The Yum-Yums when they auditioned for Arctic label founder Jimmy Bishop, who re-christened them as Honey and the Bees and added Nadine Felder to the line-up as lead vocalist. After Arctic folded, they moved to the Jubilee imprint Josie, where they recorded this 1970 gem. With a name like Honey and the Bees, it'll come as no surprise that Love is pure, sweet soul, and it's the Philly Sound through and through, with arrangements by greats like Norman Harris, Ronnie Baker, and Bobby Martin. The medley of Teddy Randazzo tunes culminating in a gorgeous rendition of the Royalettes hit "It's Gonna Take a Miracle" is the highlight, but the whole record is pure magic, so good that we enlisted Mike Milchner of Sonic Vision to remaster it for vinyl to ensure that every note breathes and sings. First ever LP reissue, pressed in honey colored vinyl limited to 2000 copies!

Aside from McCoy Tyner’s “Contemplation,” John Coltrane’s “Naima,” and René McLean sic McClean’s “Jihad,” Doug Carn himself takes the composing reins on this masterful 1973 release, which further integrates Jean Carn’s ethereal yet soulful vocals into the his impressive stylistic vision. And this time the band includes such heavyweights as trumpeter Olu Dara, bassist Walter Booker, and drummer Ira Williams. All of Carn’s albums for Black Jazz are classics; this one might just be first among equals. In the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, the art form we call jazz exploded into endless permutations, including free jazz, spiritual jazz, soul jazz, fusion, and funk. At that time, a number of black-run collectives organically sprang up across America, including Watts-based Ugmaa (Union of God’s Musicians and Artists Ascension), Chicago’s Aacm (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians), Brooklyn’s CBA (Collective Black Artists), and Detroit’s The Tribe. And from Oakland came Black Jazz Records, founded by pianist Gene Russell and percussionist Dick Schory, with a mission statement “to promote the talents of young African American jazz musicians and singers.” Under Russell’s artistic direction, the label only put out 20 albums during its short, 4-year (1971-1975) tenure; and then, due to ownership issues and general neglect, the label went underground. Way underground, in fact… but not so far down that a new generation of crate diggers and DJ’s weren’t able to discover the label’s incredible array of modal, soul, funk, and free jazz, much of it imbued with the political and spiritual concerns of the day (and selling for a pretty penny online). Finally, in the ‘90s and early ‘oughts, the Black Jazz catalog emerged on CD in Japan; but for the most part, the entire label’s output was never reissued on vinyl anywhere. After years of trying, we at Real Gone Music finally were able to connect with the rights-holders in early 2020…right before quarantine and the subsequent events that triggered worldwide protests for racial equality. Obviously, the release of this politically aware material, originally recorded in an era of similar social and cultural ferment, couldn’t be more timely. But this music succeeds on a deeper level than just a reminder that the struggle against prejudice continues unabated 50 years later. It offers manifold moments of beauty that remind all of us of our common humanity and the love that, if we let it, binds us all. We are very, very proud to present the Black Jazz catalog on LP, remastered by Mike Milchner at Sonic Vision Mastering, and pressed on black vinyl at Gotta Groove Records with lacquer cutting by Clint Holley and Dave Polster at Well Made Music. Produced by Real Gone Music’s own Gordon Anderson, each vinyl reissue features the original black-and-white Black Jazz album artwork, which, on early releases, featured an identical front and back cover, with the back cover turned “upside down,” allowing for the album title to be visible regardless of how the LP was sitting in the record store rack. And, both our vinyl and CD releases will feature added liner notes by Pat Thomas, author of Listen Whitey! The Sounds of Black Power that draw a straight line between what was happening then…and what is happening right now. Real Gone Music will donate $500 to the Equal Justice Initiative with the release of each Black Jazz album