DESCRIPTION Originally released on Sonny Lester's iconic Groove Merchant record label and produced by Lester himself, Sweet Sister Funk is a jazz-funk masterclass. It features a slick line-up including Cecil Bridgewater on trumpet, Mickey Roker on drums, and Albert Dailey on electric piano. Rich and beautiful, the seven songs ebb and flow in energy, fusing jazz funk and soul jazz with style and swagger. There are bags of groove with Ramon and Cecil trading off on sax and trumpet in an effortless conversation throughout the LP, supplemented by brilliant solos from the rest of the players.

A gold mine of sampling material, the album includes a sublime cover version of The Stylistics' much-loved 'People Make The World Go Round', which was sampled by DJ Shadow on Blackalicious's 'Swan Lake' in 1994. Elsewhere, the percussion and bass intro of the opening track 'First Come, First Serve' is a sampler's delight - a deep, heavy groove with a fine saxophone workout by Ramon. Head to 'Don't Ask Me' and you’ll find the swinging horn intro that formed the basis of 'You Came Up' by Big Pun featuring Noreaga from 1998, whilst 'Wijinia' has echoes of ‘70s indie jazz by labels such as Strata East & Black Jazz. Tracks: CD
First Come, First Serve
Wijinia
Sweet Sister Funk
Sweat
Don't Ask Me
Lord Sideways
People Make The World Go Round

RHYTHM