The third in Jazzman's reissue series collecting rare and forgotten funk treasures from the late '60s and early '70s (the first two covered the Midwest and Texas funk scenes), Florida Funk shows that the Alligator State was also clearly in the groove of it. Fueled by Florida's active club scene and released on vibrant but distributionally-challenged small independent labels, none of the singles gathered here was ever anything more than a regional hit back in the day, but many of them have since become highly sought after by collectors and DJs looking for thick backbeats to sample. And thick is the word here, as grooves as wide as a mangrove swamp and every bit as deep follow here track after track, and it's a wonder Florida wasn't stomped into the ocean with the pulse of it all back in those glorious pre-disco days. Daytona Beach's Universals lead things off with the marvelous "New Generation," originally released in 1970 on Expression Records, and there's no reason on earth that this side shouldn't have been a huge and enduring hit. Pearly Queen, an all-Latin band from Miami Springs who took their name from the Traffic song, follow with the equally as impressive "Quit Jive'in," released by Sound Triangle in 1974. Miami guitarist Frankie Seay's 1969 instrumental "Soul Food," originally put out by Tropical Records, is a delightfully ragged, raw and lo-fi slice of hard soul with stomping drums that sound like they're about to push through the floor. The rarity of some of these 45s is made evident by Bobby Williams' James Brown influenced "All the Time," a 1969 single from Tropical Records, which is full of the cracks and pops that come from a vinyl source that has been played repeatedly. Mildly irritating as these slight defects are, it still beats not hearing this solid little single at all. Wonderfully paced, sequenced, researched and annotated, Florida Funk is an incalculable blessing in a 21st century world always in danger of running out of new, fresh and previously undiscovered beats to sample. ~ Steve Leggett, All Music Guide
Florida Funk: 1968-1975
04/03/2007 | Now Again
All Music Guide Review
Track Listing
Credits
- Ruben Perez
- Drums
- Jose Santana
- Vocals
- Harold Seay
- Drums
- Jerry "Wizzard" Seay
- Bass
- Blair Mooney
- Engineer
- Matt Rowlands
- Art Direction
- Jerome Smith
- Guitar
- Sam Baker
- Vocals
- John Williams
- Trombone
- Clarence Reid
- Producer
- John Wilcox
- Bass, Producer
- Jesse Jones, Jr.
- Sax (Tenor)
- Luis Santi
- Piano, Vocals, Timbales, Drums
- Victor Rodriguez
- Trumpet
- Dante Carfagna
- Liner Notes, Editing
- Jesús Fernández
- Vocals
- Denvil "Demp" Liptrott
- Sax (Tenor)
- Anthony Turner
- Bass, Author
- Terry Washington
- Trumpet
- Len Walls
- Producer
- Sam Graham
- Sax (Tenor)
- Ariel Hernandez
- Bass
- Mariano Rodriguez
- Engineer
- Pedro Rodriguez
- Trumpet
- Willie Connell Johnson
- Arranger, Vocals
- Negro Vivar
- Trumpet, Arranger
- Jose Rubio
- Organ
- Tim Hayes
- Bass
- Willie Clarke
- Producer, Author
- Jack "Happy Jack" Taylor
- Producer
- John Richard Lewis
- Bass
- David Brown
- Producer
- James Knight
- Guitar, Author, Leader, Arranger
- James Riley
- Guitar (Rhythm)
- Eothen Alapatt
- Coordination
- Ronald Smith
- Trumpet
- Ricardo Amaray Fernández
- Flute, Arranger
- Willlie "Little Beaver" Hale
- Bass, Arranger, Vocals, Guitar
- Malcolm Catto
- Compilation, Research
- Gerald Short
- Liner Notes, Research, Compilation
- Eugene Edwards
- Trumpet, Vocals
- Horace Riley
- Bass, Arranger
- Andrew Symington
- Layout Design
- Peter Fernandez
- Vocals
- Richard Clark
- Drums
- Lonnie Jones
- Sax (Tenor)
- "Blind" Robert
- Drums
- Whitman Able
- Guitar
- Ronnie Aldrini
- Conga
- Ambristo
- Sax (Tenor)
- Angelo Angione
- Liner Notes, Research, Compilation
- Dave Bodoo
- Sax (Tenor)
- Bruce Bolden
- Trombone
- Carlos Bonachea
- Bass
- Murphy Brockington
- Drums
- Ben Clark
- Arranger, Drums
- Arthur Colden "Speq"
- Keyboards, Leader, Producer, Vocals
- J.J. Dames
- Sax (Tenor)
- Peter Dennett
- Mastering
- Vincent Donaldson "Vimp"
- Bass, Leader
- Pearl Dowdell
- Vocals
- Sam Early
- Organ
- Fryer
- ?
- Fernando Garcia
- Trumpet
- Paul Garcia
- Guitar, Leader
- Ron Gause
- Organ
- César Godinez
- Trumpet
- Nelson Griffith
- Producer
- Eloy Guanche "Rali"
- Drums
- Sam Guess
- Trombone
- Theophilus Harper
- Sax (Alto)
- Ervin Hart
- Guitar (Rhythm)
- Scherwin Henry
- Percussion, Conga
- William Highland
- Drums
- Louis Howard
- Keyboards
- Johnnie "Hot Dog" Hunter
- Trombone
- Jimmy Jenkins "J.J."
- Bass
- Jimmy "Goo Goo Moo"
- Drums
- Lavell Kamma
- Leader, Sax (Alto), Vocals, Producer, Author
- Vanessa Kendrick
- Vocals
- Tony Kitchen
- Drums
- George Lane
- Sax (Tenor)
- Liam Large
- Liner Notes
- Lewis "Popeye"
- Guitar (Rhythm)
- Johnny Louder
- Bass
- Manuel J. Mato
- Producer
- Jerome McNeal
- Trumpet
- Jorge Mijares "Jumbo"
- Vocals
- Aaron Miller
- Author
- Moncrief
- Trumpet
- Lindsey Morris
- Trumpet, Producer, Leader, Keyboards, Arranger
- Danny Murray "Bob"
- Flute
- Milton Mustapha
- Trumpet
- L Newsome
- Arranger
- Larry Newsome
- Sax (Tenor)
- Enrique Osorio
- Trumpet
- Mirian Owens
- Percussion
- Butch Page
- Trumpet
- Lanard Perry
- Trumpet
- Weston Prim
- Trumpet, Vocals
- Jorge Reina
- Trumpet
- Eddie Riddle
- Bass
- Windell Roberson
- Trumpet
- Reed Roberts "Manson"
- Bass, Author
- C Robinson
- Arranger
- Carlos Salazarte
- Conga
- Eric Schabacker
- Engineer
- Nicola Schafer
- Editing
- Frankie Seay
- Guitar, Leader, Producer
- Joe Shakes
- Percussion, Conga
- Charlie Smith "Chan"
- Guitar
- Cetta Sneed
- Keyboards
- Charles Steadham "Blade"
- Sax (Baritone), Sax (Tenor)
- George Taylor "Lil George"
- Guitar
- Tex
- Sax (Baritone)
- Aaron Watson
- Drums
- Weaver
- Trumpet
- Bobby Williams
- Vocals
- Frank Williams
- Guitar, Producer, Sax (Tenor), Arranger
- Larry Williams "Geech"
- Guitar
- James Wimberly
- Guitar
- Eddie Holloway
- Vocals
- Steve Alaimo
- Producer
- Snoopy Dean
- Guitar
- Peter Carter
- Arranger
- Edmund Collins
- Bass
- Robert Ferguson
- Drums
- Frank Fernandez
- Bass, Vocals
- Robert Johnson
- Drums
- Tyrone Johnson
- Sax (Tenor)
- Benny Latimore
- Organ
- Ralph Vaughan Williams
- Flute, Sax (Tenor)










