Black Jazz Records: The Complete Singles

In the 1970s, as the jazz market was drying up and big labels controlled the means of distribution, small labels like Tribe, Strata-East, and Black Jazz had to do whatever it took to get their artists heard. Black Jazz only issued 20 albums during their run, but this compilation shows that they also released a batch of 45s aimed directly at the jukebox. 

By the late ’60s, Gene Russell had already pivoted to pop covers of the Fifth Dimension so his singles here slot readily into the soul jazz template, though his takes on “Me and Mrs. Jones” and “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” can’t escape wallpaper status. That said, Walter Bishop’s gem “Coral Keys” puts the likes of Harold Vick, Woody Shaw, and Idris Muhammad into a groovy side. And Black Jazz secret weapon Doug Carn offers clear highlights, from his exploratory “Moon Child” to having his wife sprinkle lyrics over the likes of Horace Silver’s “Peace” and Bobby Hutcherson’s lullaby-like “Little B’s Poem.”