Soul Love Now: The Black Fire Records Story 1975-1993

by Black Fire

supported by

Jonathan Clarke What a lovely vibe, timeless :-) Favorite track: Children of Tomorrow's Dreams.

tirxbb Bonjour,
mauvaise nouvelle : le disque est arrivé mais il est voilé..!
Comment faire..?
Merci

Markus Bader One Word: PERFECT. I seriously hope for a second volume, Strut strikes again!!! Favorite track: Drummers from Ibadan.

more...

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Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
A1. THEATRE WEST – CHILDREN OF TOMORROW’S DREAMS 4.05
A2. ONENESS OF JUJU – SOUL LOVE NOW 4.54
A3. BYARD LANCASTER – DRUMMERS FROM IBADAN 4.07

B1. LON MOSHE – DOIN THE CARVIN FOR THABO 5.34
B2. JUJU – NIA (Poem: The Complete Circle) 8.37

C1. WAYNE DAVIS – LOOK AT THE PEOPLE 5.11
C2. SOUTHERN ENERGY ENSEMBLE – THIRD HOUSE 7.02

D1. ONENESS OF JUJU – AFRICAN RHYTHMS (Live in Washington DC, 1975) 7.41
D2. EXPERIENCE UNLIMITED – PEOPLE 6.0

Includes unlimited streaming of Soul Love Now: The Black Fire Records Story 1975-1993 via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 3 days

Purchasable with gift card

€21 EUR or more
Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
1. THEATRE WEST – CHILDREN OF TOMORROW’S DREAMS 4.05
2. ONENESS OF JUJU – SOUL LOVE NOW 4.54
3. BYARD LANCASTER – DRUMMERS FROM IBADAN 4.07
4. JUJU – NIA (Poem: The Complete Circle) 8.37
5. LON MOSHE – DOIN THE CARVIN FOR THABO 5.34
6. WAYNE DAVIS – LOOK AT THE PEOPLE 5.11
7. SOUTHERN ENERGY ENSEMBLE – THIRD HOUSE 7.02
8. ONENESS OF JUJU – AFRICAN RHYTHMS (Live In Washington DC, 1975) 7.41
9. OKYEREMA ASANTE – FOLLOW ME 5.36
10. EXPERIENCE UNLIMITED – PEOPLE 6.0

Includes unlimited streaming of Soul Love Now: The Black Fire Records Story 1975-1993 via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 3 days

Purchasable with gift card

€12 EUR or more
Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

€11 EUR or more

1.	Children of Tomorrow's Dreams 04:08
2.	Soul Love Now 04:52	buy track
3.	Drummers from Ibadan 04:09	buy track
4.	Nia (Poem: Complete the Circle) 08:37	buy track
5.	Doin' the Carvin' for Thabo 05:35	buy track
6.	Look at the People! 05:10	buy track
7.	Third House 06:59	buy track
8.	African Rhythms (Live in Washington DC, 1975) 07:43	buy track
9.	Follow Me 05:34	buy track
10.	People 06:09	buy track

about

Strut present the first ever compilation bringing together classics and rarities from the seminal spiritual jazz and conscious soul label Black Fire, spanning 1975 to 1993.

Formed by DJ and record producer Jimmy Gray in Richmond, Virginia, and following in the footsteps of other influential black-owned independent labels like Strata-East and Tribe, the foundation of Black Fire coincided with saxophonist James “Plunky” Branch returning to Richmond from New York to form Oneness Of Juju.

The band’s ‘African Rhythms’ album in 1975 was the perfect fusion of jazz, deep African polyrhythms and empowering lyrics and bassist Muzi Branch, a trained artist, created the first of many Black Fire hand-illustrated sleeves for this release.

The album set the tone for a series of landmark releases on the label including Oneness Of Juju’s ‘Space Jungle Luv’ (1976) and debuts from soulman Wayne Davis (1976) and early go go pioneers Experience Unlimited (1977).

Gray continued to use his influence and strong A&R instincts to bring in more key artists – great jazz players like Byard Lancaster and Hamiet Bluiett, Ghanaian master percussionist Okyerema Asante and talented collectives including Southern Energy Ensemble and music / drama troupe Theatre West. Due to personal and cashflow issues, many releases had to be canned and only surfaced subsequently on CD releases during the early ‘90s.

‘Soul Love Now’ brings together some of the many highlights
from the label onto one essential compilation. Opening with Theatre West’s powerful soul message ‘Children of Tomorrow’s Dreams’, the tracks include a Byard Lancaster recording with Tunde Kuboye’s Drummers Of Ibadan in Nigeria and Lon Moshe’s driving jazz dance classic ‘Doin’ The Carvin’ For Thabo’. Wayne Davis brings the explosive gospel rare groove ‘Look At The People’ while Plunky’s JuJu and Oneness Of Juju feature with three tracks spanning their career, including a storming previously unreleased version of the classic ‘African Rhythms’ recorded in DC in 1975.

‘Black Fire’ features extended sleeve notes with extended interviews with musicians from the label and includes a reprint of one of the three Black Fire magazines published by Jimmy Gray which predated the launch of the label.

credits

released August 14, 2020

2020, Strut Records - a division of K7 Music GmbH

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about

Black Fire Washington, D.C.

Official archive of Jimmy Gray's seminal independent soul and jazz label & collective that he ran out of Richmond, VA between 1975 and 1993. Working from the original master tapes and unreleased session, artists include Oneness Of Juju, Lon Moshe, Byard Lancaster, Theatre West, Wayne Davis and more.... ... more

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