Forgotten Treasures

V/A “Soul of a Nation 2: Jazz is the Teacher, Funk is the Preacher” (Soul Jazz Records)

Soul & Funk

Soul Jazz Records releases volume two of their critically acclaimed Soul of a Nation compilation series.

The first volume of the series coincided with the exhibition “Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power” that debuted at London’s Tate Modern museum in 2017.

Titled “Soul of a Nation 2: Jazz is the Teacher, Funk is the Preacher”, volume two of the series features righteous Jazz-Funk, Afro-centric grooves, and socially conscious street poetry influenced by the Civil Rights and Black Power movement of the late sixties and mid-seventies. The music on this record strongly speaks to the themes of freedom, self-respect, self-empowerment, and Black Pride.

Some of the most groundbreaking African-American artists of this period are featured on the record including The Art Ensemble of Chicago, Funkadelic, Gil Scott-Heron, Don Cherry, and Detroit Tribe’s Wendell Harrison and Phil Ranelin. Other highlights include classic Jazz-Funk gems like Gary Bartz NTU Troop’s ‘Celestial Blues’, James Mason’s ‘Sweet Power, Your Embrace’, Oneness of Juju’s ‘Space Jungle Funk’, Har-You Percussion Group’s ‘Welcome To The Party’, and more.

Overall, Soul Jazz has once again put together a well-curated compilation that does an incredible job of highlighting a monumental and breakthrough period musically for African-American cultural expression.

The Soul of a Nation exhibit is currently being shown at Brooklyn Museum, New York (now-Feb 3, 2019), and will make its final stop at The Broad in Los Angeles in Spring 2019.

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This article was originally published on beatcaffeine.com

TJ Oliver-Gorton

TJ Oliver-Gorton

DJ, producer, compulsive vinyl collector, caffeine consumer, and music seeker, TJ is the founder of BeatCaffeine.com, an online destination for vinyl collectors, DJs and music fans that want to dig deeper.