RnB

Jazz music community with discographies, reviews and forums

The line between jazz and RnB is often blurry. Both styles of music come from the same sources and both influence each other as they constantly cross paths. The Jazz Related RnB genre at JMA pays tribute to RnB bands that are not jazz bands in name only. For example, the early to mid-70s version of Earth Wind and Fire caught the attention of many jazz and fusion fans with their virtuoso horn charts, poly-rhythmic foundation and extended harmonies over modern jazz chord changes. Many of the RnB artists listed in this genre had a strong impact on the development of jazz.

rnb top albums

Showing only albums and live's | Based on members ratings & JMA custom algorithm | 24 hours caching

STEVIE WONDER Songs in the Key of Life Album Cover Songs in the Key of Life
STEVIE WONDER
4.67 | 14 ratings
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STEELY DAN Aja Album Cover Aja
STEELY DAN
4.57 | 31 ratings
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STEVIE WONDER Innervisions Album Cover Innervisions
STEVIE WONDER
4.60 | 18 ratings
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EARTH WIND & FIRE Gratitude Album Cover Gratitude
EARTH WIND & FIRE
4.64 | 7 ratings
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CURTIS MAYFIELD Curtis/Live! Album Cover Curtis/Live!
CURTIS MAYFIELD
4.77 | 4 ratings
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ISAAC HAYES Black Moses Album Cover Black Moses
ISAAC HAYES
4.64 | 5 ratings
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STEVIE WONDER Fulfillingness' First Finale Album Cover Fulfillingness' First Finale
STEVIE WONDER
4.46 | 10 ratings
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THE TEMPTATIONS Sky's The Limit Album Cover Sky's The Limit
THE TEMPTATIONS
4.75 | 3 ratings
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STEELY DAN Countdown to Ecstasy Album Cover Countdown to Ecstasy
STEELY DAN
4.30 | 22 ratings
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ISAAC HAYES Hot Buttered Soul Album Cover Hot Buttered Soul
ISAAC HAYES
4.37 | 9 ratings
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EARTH WIND & FIRE All 'n' All Album Cover All 'n' All
EARTH WIND & FIRE
4.34 | 11 ratings
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STEVIE WONDER Talking Book Album Cover Talking Book
STEVIE WONDER
4.32 | 14 ratings
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This list is in progress since the site is new. We invite all logged in members to use the "quick rating" widget (stars bellow album covers) or post full reviews to increase the weight of your rating in the global average value (see FAQ for more details). Enjoy JMA!

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rnb Music Reviews

CORTEX (FRANCE) Cortex, Volume 2

Album · 1977 · RnB
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FunkFreak75
The infectious popularity of Alain Mion's first CORTEX album obviously called for a follow up. The problem was in keeping his original band mates interested (and, I suppose, paid). Aside from drummer Alain Gandolfi (who, with Mion, would remain the core-constant throughout the Cortex career), an entire cast of newcomers has had to have been recruited in order to record an publish (and tour) with Alain's new songs.

A1. "Devil's Dance" (2:30) a great upbeat, piano & guitar-based Disco tune to open the album. Nice! New bassist Nicolas Mirkov and guitarist Philippe Vautin prove their worth from the opening minute. Even though it's short, it could easily (and happily) have been extended as a long jam (with perhaps some saxes or more solo work from Alain or Nicolas). (9.3333/10)

A2. "Funk Around The Punk" (3:18) definitely funk with the whole band--bass, drums, keys, and rhythm guitar--all participating in the wholeness of a 70s funk song. Guitarist Philippe Vautrin does some pretty cool things with his guitar: partly rhythmic, partly lead (small chords and both plucked and strummed strings). Alain Mion is active on several keyboard tracks indicating multiple over dubs. No horns or winds (that I can detect) on this one. Cute and peppy--very much like a BOB JAMES song. (8.875/10)

A3. "Hurluberlu" (5:10) two chord blues-based funk-rock/R&B with a rolling bass line and driving drum beat so that Alain and Philippe can play around on top. Nice, interesting work from Philippe's fuzzy-flanged lead guitar over this awesome cruisin' song. Excellent work from bassist Nicolas Mirkov (who, by the way, is the sole composer credited for this song) as well as from drummer Gandolfi. (9/10)

A4. "Soul" (2:50) three-chord keyboard entry leads into a funky Disco song with cool clavinet, rhythm guitar, and K.C. & The Sunshine Band "Get Down Tonight" lead guitar work, plus saxophone solos in the second half. Actually a pretty cool and creative song! (9/10)

A5. "Datura" (2:30) bass and guitar provide the most important inputs on this song. Though it has two motifs, it is another song that feels simple, one-dimensional, like a warm-up song or étude/practice/audition tune. One of the few songs not totally credited to Alain Mion, the guitar work of Philippe Vautrin is purely rhythm guitar but co-composer Nicolas Mirkov's bass (and sax) are plenty funky. (4.625/5)

B1. "Poxa" (3:25) this one sounds sappy enough to be a cover--like something that would likely end up as elevator music--but when the female background singers enter and start their "la-la-la-la-las" it kind of eliminates it from elevator heaven and renders it more of a soundtrack to some low-budget film. It's not bad--the musicians' performances are all fine--it's just a bit hokey. (8.75/10)

B2. "Mister J." (3:36) funky and perky little composition by drummer Alain Gandolfi that sounds like an American advertizing song. Female background vocalists enter in the second minute intermittently injecting the word some word that sounds perhaps more like "raina" than "régina." (8.875/10)

B3. "Régina" (5:00) the lone composition of guitarist Philippe Vautrin opens with guitar setting the chord progression, key, and pace. Funky bass, straightforward drums, keys, and clavinet "horns" plus real horns join in (the real horns gaining more traction the further into the song we go). (8.875/10)

B4. "Efficace Swing" (2:58) a nice little flute-led dittie that feels unfinished, more like an étude or practice song that never received the attention needed to finish it. Why is there no credit given to the flutist? (8.875/10)

B5. "Oh. Lord" (6:20) I love the etheric female vocalese singing like an angel over the church-like Hammond organ chords throughout the first half of this song. The little Hammond flurries in-between the two rounds of Alice Prévost's vocals is a little corny, but overall it's very cool. And then it ends. There is a rather long pause as if there is a whole new song starting, but I do recognize the same chords/key in the opening Fender Rhodes display. And then the bass, drums, and rhythm guitar-like chord play of Alain's left hand join in and provide a lovely funk-lite love song. (9.5/10)

Total Time: 37:52

The overall impression I have of this album is that it is a collection of interesting and fun ideas that the two Alains and their band mates were using for practice/workout sessions, most of which never really got fully developed or "polished." There are plenty of nice melodies and pleasant funk-lite grooves throughout, just nothing as amazing as the first album.

91.27 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; though I really would not consider this a true masterpiece of top tier Jazz-Rock Fusion (like the first one was), the album is filled with brilliant, sometimes innovative ideas, excellent performances by all musicians involved and some great earworm-like ditties and hooks--and, of course, a core of silky-smooth funk!

MIKE MAINIERI Love Play

Album · 1977 · RnB
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Matti P
The American vibraphonist Mike Mainieri came to my radar when I was 14 and loved the album "Love Over Gold" by my then-favourite band Dire Straits. Mainieri's vibes were an enjoyable addition especially on the title track and 'Private Investigations'.

I had never heard a single track of Mainieri's solo career, until a year ago I bought a heap of used, nearly-free vinyls mainly from the late 70's. Alongside a relatively weak Carly Simon album among others, this one I didn't care enough to keep it to myself. Now re-listening to it on YouTube I have more positive feelings. The overall production is quite outdated and cheesy, yes, but in the right mood the music is pretty nice in its lighthearted groove.

To me, the list of supporting musicians features a couple of familiar names, ie. bassist Tony Levin and drummer Steve Gadd. All musicians are undoubtedly excellent on their instruments. Sadly the arrangements are in my opinion too overproduced with synths, saxes, guitars and the rhythm section, whereas the gentle vibes would function better on more spatial soundscapes -- like the ones on "Love Over Gold".

The instrumentals such as 'I'm Sorry' or 'Love Play' are in general more enjoyable than the tracks featuring vocals (by various guests I'm not familiar with). The songs slightly decrease the jazzier feel and drag the album closer to the middle-of-the-road late 70's funk-flavoured pop.

STEELY DAN Katy Lied

Album · 1975 · RnB
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FunkFreak75
The Dan bounced back from their sophomore slump with the previous year's Pretzel Logic and now they release the solid Katy Lied to universal praise and playlist favorites "Black Friday", "Bad Sneakers", "Any World (That I'm Welcome to)", "Throw Back the Little Ones", and my favorite, "Dr. Wu." Though stellar guitarist Jeff "Skunk" Baxter is now gone and playing for The Doobies, Donald, Walter, and producer-extraordinaire, Gary Katz, have gotten into the routine of enlisting a broad palette of LA studio musicians including soon-to-be regulars Jeff Pocaro (drums), Larry Carlton (guitar), and singer Michael MacDonald. The new style, interestingly, was to in fact bring in a specific lineup of studio musicians for specific songs--a tactic that would be perfected for the Aja album on which no two songs had the same lineup. On Katy Lied it was the guitarists who performed a kind of revolving door according to stylistic preferences and availabilities. Also, Katy Lied illustrates the band's evolving preference for an expanded lineup of jazz-oriented musicians, including full horn section, vibes, and percussionists.

A good solid album, though not great, and, again, where's the prog?

STEELY DAN Pretzel Logic

Album · 1974 · RnB
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FunkFreak75
One of my favorite albums as a teenager, I could not get enough (and still can't) of hearing the title song--this despite the fact that I always considered Side One one of those most rare of species, a "Perfect Side." Yes, Rikki Don't Lose That Number" (9/10), "Night by Night" (9/10), "Any Major Dude Will Tell You" (9/10), "Barrytown" (8.75/10), and "East St. Louis Toodle-Oo" (4.5/5) make up, in my opinion, a perfect side of music, one that you can play straight through and never have to skip, stop, or be disappointed. Such a rare thing. Side two, on the other hand, is quite another story. The only song I like/love/always want to hear is "Pretzel Logic"--definitely a top 5 Dan song, maybe my favorite, of all-time. (No, nothing can ever top "Do It Again", Home at Last", "Babylon Sisters" or perhaps even "Kid Charlemagne.") Then there's the question we're all wondering about: Is this really prog--even the fringes of the jazz-rock fusion sub-genre?

STEELY DAN Countdown to Ecstasy

Album · 1973 · RnB
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FunkFreak75
Nowhere near the impact album that Can't Buy a Thrill was or up to the heights of the next album, Pretzel Logic. Is this, perchance, where the term "sophomore slump" came from? "Bodhisattva" (8.25/10), "Showbiz Kids" (8.5/10), "My Old School" (8.25/10), and "King of the World" (8.75/10) are all decent songs but none come near to the highs of "Dirty Work" or "Night by Night" much less "Do It Again" or "Rikkie Don't Lose that Number." Better off skipping this one--unless you're a collector type--and go to Pretzel Logic or even The Royal Scam. Still, what more can be said about the genius of producer Gary Katz? Some of the purely greatest sounding albums I've ever heard were produced by him, including Eye to Eye, Joe Cocker's Civilized Man, Rosie Vela's Zazu, Love and Money's Strange Kind of Love, and Laura Nyro's Walk the Dog & Light the Light as well as the entire Dan discography.

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