If you’re looking for something to take up 30 minutes of your time and you’ve already rewatched, with bemused horror, everything about that guy and his tigers, then dig into a summery Sweet Funk primer with Egon’s mix, now up at Spotify. It’s a live mix of tracks from our Loving On The Flipside anthology and related music, some of which hasn’t made it up on to digital distribution services, and some of which we’ve been trying to get sorted out for reissue for some time.
The exterior of The East, late 1970s.
Juju/Oneness of Juju’s Plunky Branch in front of the historical home of The East, 2019.
ON SALE: BLACK FIRE 5LP SET
5 legendary albums of Spiritual Jazz and Deep Funk. Shipping immediately via our web store at Rappcats.
Juju’s Live At The East 1973 is part of our definitive reissues of five classic albums from the Black Fire collective. These 5 records are presented individually and as part of an obi-wrapped set that offers a value priced set of the albums. Limited edition, one time pressing.
Here, watch a short film documenting Juju/Oneness of Juju’s founder and saxophonist James “Plunky” Branch returning to the historical home of the legendary Brooklyn jazz venue and cultural center The East alongside Now-Again’s Eothen Alapatt in early 2019. This piece was filmed and edited by Josh Tyson-Fermin
In this piece, Plunky reflects on The East, its importance and legacy, and the cauldron of music now called “Spiritual Jazz.”.
Now-Again issued Juju’s Live At The East 1973 in conjunction with Vinyl Me, Please in 2019. It’s out now and is part of our Black Fire 5LP Set. It is one of only three jazz albums, alongside Pharoah Sanders’ Live At The East and Mtume’s Land of the Blacks, recorded at the venue.
ON SALE: BLACK FIRE 5LP SET
5 legendary albums of Spiritual Jazz and Deep Funk. Via our web store at Rappcats.
This is the definitive reissue by Now-Again of five classic albums from the Black Fire record label. These 5 records are presented individually and as part of an obi-wrapped set that offers a value priced set of the albums. Limited edition, one time pressing.
Juju’s Live At The East 1973 and Experience Unlimited’s Free Yourself are shipping now. The others are pre-order with ship dates listed below.
Read more about the label: Black Fire – Spiritual Jazz and Black American Empowerment through Music in 1970s
Each album: Lacquered, most directly from master tape, by legendary Los Angeles mastering engineer Bernie Grundman. Packaged in a thick, tip-on sleeve and includes a unique, oversize booklet with extensive notes on each album, the Black Fire collective, and the musical and cultural revolution they created. MORE
Here it is, rumored no more: More Mess On My Thing, the demo Bootsy Collins and his band recorded for James Brown in 1969 that won them the title “The J.B.’s” – and changed the course of popular music.
Top photo: The J.B.’s. Front: Frankie Waddy, Catfish Collins, Bootsy Collins. Back: Robert McCullough, Chicken Gunnels, unknown.
Buy Now» The J.B.’s – More Mess On My Thing
Guaranteed in stock via our web store at Rappcats.
This is the companion piece to Now-Again’s first-ever issue of the lost J.B.’s album These Are The J.B.’s. All tracks mixed by Mario Caldato, directly from the original multi-track masters. Overseen by Egon and Universal Music Group’s in-house Brown expert Harry Weinger. MORE
Linked below: Egon’s Funk Archaeology post at Red Bull Music Academy’s website, written five years ago, offering a peek into the process behind the Richard Marks Never Satisfied anthology on Now-Again. Read about the records that this soul and funk great left behind after he passed away, and immerse yourself in the process that we live every day, trying to give unsung heroes their due props while they’re still with us. Richard Marks lost album, Love Is Gone, is the next album in the Now-Again Reserve Edition subscription.
The download this time around: a second cut from the rare Moon Song publishing demo LP referenced in the piece, an unheard soul ballad by an unknown group that we’ll almost certainly never find.
The New Series: Richard Marks’ Records – Egon’s Funk Archaeology at Red Bull Music Academy.
The Old Series: Egon’s Funk Archaeology at NPR.
Download: Unknown Artist: “Any Part I’ll Play”