Hear the deep, soulful 70s sounds of Black Jazz Records

Continuing my learning journey through the history of avant-garde and spiritual jazz, I now have jazz DJ/musicologist Gilles Peterson's sublime mix "Black Jazz Radio" on repeat. Listen below! (And don't miss my previous post about Peterson's mix of tracks from the Strata East label in a similar vein.)

Black Jazz Records was an independent label founded in Oakland in 1969 by pianist Gene Russell and percussionist Dick Schory. The only black-owned jazz label at the time, Black Jazz exclusively featured African-American artists whose non-traditional approach melded jazz with soul, funk, and black spirituality and consciousness. The result were a couple dozen stellar LPs by the likes of Doug Carn, Calvin Keys, Walter Bishop Jr, Kellee Patterson, The Awakening, and Gene Russell. If only I had those recordings on original vinyl!