VIA PRESS RELEASE | Following the success of the sought-after and critically acclaimed 4-LP collection Jazz Dispensary: Cosmic Stash (released at Record Store Day’s main event in April 2016) and the 2016 Black Friday release of Holiday Treats, comes the Top Shelf Series, an album-centric program focused on reintroducing rare and previously unavailable titles that also deliver a complete album listening experience.
Each title in the series is remastered from the original analog tapes and pressed on 180-gram audiophile-quality vinyl at Quality Record Pressings (QRP). The series will launch on April 21st with a pair of long out-of-print crate-digger classics, housed in faithfully reproduced old-school style replica jackets: Rusty Bryant’s incendiary soul-jazz statement, Fire Eater and Charles Kynard’s moody, grooving outing with cohorts Grant Green and Bernard Purdie, the deeply funky Afro-Disiac.
A limited edition worldwide run of 1,000 copies were pressed with the Jazz Dispensary “AUTHORIZED DEALER” window cling. After the initial run, the titles will be available at streaming outlets, mastered for iTunes, and in Hi-Res digital (96/24 and 192/24). The Top Shelf Series will feature eight releases in 2017, featuring titles by Bernard Purdie, Alice Coltrane and Joe Henderson, Funk, Inc., Gary Bartz’s NTU Troop, and more.
About Rusty Bryant’s Fire Eater | An unsung monster in the pantheon of exceptional soul-jazz outings from the Prestige catalog, Fire Eater finds Bryant grooving hard in a combo that featured Idris Muhammad on drums, Wilbert Longmire on guitar, and both Bill Mason and Leon Spencer Jr. on organ. Included in this stretched-out, funky set of four originals is the title track, “Fire Eater,” which was sampled for “Swing Set” by Jurassic 5 (2000) and appeared on the 1999 collaboration between DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist, Brainfreeze.
While not as instantly recognizable by name as other greats of the tenor saxophone such as John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins, Bryant’s fiery and athletic approach on this set sets him apart from his peers as a force to be reckoned with. In the strident groove and funky underpinnings of Fire Eater is the blueprint for generations of future groovers and funkateers. Essential.
About Charles Kynard’s Afro-Disiac | Flanked by a who’s-who of exceptional talent, which includes Bernard Purdie on drums, Jimmy Lewis on electric bass, Grant Green on guitar, and Houston Person on tenor saxophone, Charles Kynard turns in a soulful and sublimely understated set of purely grooving soul-jazz fare.
Long out of print and never reissued in the U.S. on vinyl since its original release in 1970, Afro-Disiac, pressed at QRP from lacquers cut by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio, is just the musical panacea you’ve been looking for. Features the smoldering, deep-pocket Purdie showcase, “Sweetheart.”
