Kool Jazz | ||||
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Compilation album by | ||||
Released | 1973 | |||
Genre | Funk, Jazz, R&B | |||
Length | 1:14:59 | |||
Label | De-Lite | |||
Producer | Gene Redd, Kool and the Gang | |||
Kool & the Gang chronology | ||||
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Kool Jazz is the second compilation album by the funk band Kool & the Gang, released in 1973 on De-Lite Records. [1] The album reached No. 26 on the US Billboard Top Soul Albums chart and No. 14 on the US Billboard Top Jazz LPs chart. [2] [3]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [4] |
Chris Albertson of Stereo Review declared "This album, mostly instrumentals taken from four of their popular releases, shows them to be worthy of the serious jazz listener's attention. The compositions, all but Charles Lloyd's Sombrero Sam contributed by members of the group, reveal talents that some of the group's most popular hits obscure." [5] AllMusic rated Kool Jazz 4.5 out of 5 stars. [4]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Breeze & Soul" | Kool & the Gang | 5:31 |
2. | "Sea of Tranquility" | Kool & the Gang | 3:35 |
3. | "Sombrero Sam" | Kool & the Gang | 6:42 |
4. | "Lucky for Me" | Kool & the Gang | 3:06 |
5. | "Duji" | Kool & the Gang | 6:02 |
6. | "Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)" | Kool & the Gang | 8:20 |
7. | "North, East, South, West" | Kool & the Gang | 3:41 |
8. | "I Remember John W. Coltrane" | Kool & the Gang | 4:04 |
9. | "Wild and Peaceful" | Gene Redd | 9:32 |
10. | "Winter Sadness" | Kool & the Gang | 5:07 |
11. | "Summer Madness" | Kool & the Gang | 8:02 |
12. | "Universal Sound" | Kool & the Gang | 4:04 |
13. | "Messenger of Wisdom" | Gene Redd | 5:46 |
14. | "Free" | Gene Redd | 2:07 |
Kool & the Gang is an American R&B, soul, and funk band formed in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1964. Its founding members include brothers Robert "Kool" Bell and Ronald Bell, Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas, Robert "Spike" Mickens, Charles Smith, George Brown, Woodrow "Woody" Sparrow, and Ricky West. They have undergone numerous changes in personnel and have explored many musical styles throughout their history, including jazz, rhythm and blues, soul, funk, disco, rock, and pop music. After settling on their name following several changes, the group signed to De-Lite Records and released their debut album, Kool and the Gang (1969).
Eumir Deodato de Almeida is a Brazilian pianist, composer, arranger and record producer, primarily in jazz but who has been known for his eclectic melding of genres, such as pop, rock, disco, rhythm and blues, classical, Latin and bossa nova.
Pickwick Records was an American record label and British record distributor known for its budget album releases of sound-alike recordings, bargain bin reissues and repackagings under the brands Design, Bravo, Hurrah, Grand Prix, and children's records on the Cricket and Happy Time labels.
Billboard Year-End charts are cumulative rankings of entries in Billboard magazine charts in the United States in any given chart year. Several hundred Year-End charts are now published by Billboard, the most important of which are the single or album charts based on Hot 100 and Billboard 200 respectively.
Wild and Peaceful is the fourth studio album, and sixth album of new material released by the funk band Kool & the Gang, and is their commercial breakthrough album. It was released in 1973 and was hugely successful on the Billboard R&B chart, reaching No. 6 and charting for 36 weeks. It also reached No. 33 on the Pop charts, making it the band's first entry into that chart's Top 40. The album spawned the band's first three Top 10 singles. "Funky Stuff" reached No. 5 R&B/No. 29 Pop. The hugely popular track "Jungle Boogie" soared to No. 2 R&B and No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, and "Hollywood Swinging" topped the Billboard Hot Soul Singles in June 1974 while reaching No. 6 Pop. The latter two singles both sold over a million copies and were certified Gold by the RIAA. The album itself was also certified Gold.
"Jungle Boogie" is a funk song recorded by Kool & the Gang for their 1973 album Wild and Peaceful. It reached number four as a single, and became very popular in nightclubs. Billboard ranked it as the number 12 song for 1974, despite there being as many as 36 No. 1 singles that year.
Open Sesame is the eighth studio album by the funk band Kool & the Gang, released in 1976 on Mercury Records. The album reached No. 9 on the US Billboard Top Soul Albums chart and No. 33 on the US Billboard Top Jazz LPs chart.
The Force is the ninth studio album by the funk band Kool & the Gang, released in 1977 on De-Lite Records. The album peaked at No. 33 on the US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
Ladies' Night is the eleventh studio album by the funk band Kool & the Gang, released in 1979. The album became their first major success especially after the release of the title track, the U.S. #8 "Ladies' Night," and the U.S. #5 follow-up "Too Hot" which both became Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. The album brought a return to the mainstream after a lull in success from 1976-1978. Ladies' Night reached number one on the U.S. R&B chart. Additionally, all the cuts from the album reached number five on the disco chart.
"Celebration" is a 1980 song by American band Kool & the Gang. Released as the first single from their twelfth album, Celebrate! (1980), it was the band's first and only single to reach No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
"Ladies' Night" is a song by American band Kool & the Gang, released as the first single from their eleventh album of the same name (1979). It is a play on the popular use of "Ladies Nights" at bars and clubs that were meant to draw in more female patrons in order to draw in even more male clientele. The song as a single was a success, and became a radio staple. It was also a chart success, peaking at number eight on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1980 and stayed atop the R&B charts for two weeks. It also gave them their first hit in the United Kingdom in August 1979, peaking at number nine in the UK Singles Chart.
"Midnight at the Oasis" is a song written by David Nichtern. It was recorded in 1973 by American folk and blues singer Maria Muldaur for her self-titled album (1973) and is her best-known recording; it peaked at #6 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and #21 in the UK Singles Chart in the spring of 1974. Billboard ranked it as the No. 13 song for 1974. It was also nominated for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 17th Annual Grammy Awards, held in 1975. In Canada, the song reached #2 in the RPM magazine singles charts and #45 in the year-end chart.
De-Lite Records, whose formal name was De-Lite Recorded Sound Corporation, was a record label specializing in R&B music from 1969 to 1985; Island Records now manages the De-Lite catalog.
"Hollywood Swinging" is a 1974 song by R&B/funk band Kool & the Gang from their album Wild and Peaceful. It was written by Robert "Kool" Bell, Ronald Bell, George M. Brown, Robert "Spike" Mickens, Claydes Charles Smith, Dennis R. Thomas and Rick A. Westfield.
"Fresh" is a song by the American group Kool & the Gang. Released as a single in 1984 from the album Emergency, the song peaked at #9 on the U.S. Hot 100 chart, and #11 on the UK chart. It also reached number one on both the U.S. R&B chart and U.S. Dance chart.
"Spirit of the Boogie" is a funk/soul song recorded by Kool & the Gang as the title track for their 1975 album.
Salongo is an album by the jazz pianist Ramsey Lewis, released in 1976 by Columbia. The album rose to No. 7 on the Billboard magazine Top Jazz Albums chart and No. 17 on the Top Soul Albums chart.
"Too Hot" is a song recorded by the American band Kool & the Gang for their 1979 album Ladies' Night. It was written by George Brown and Kool & the Gang, and produced by Eumir Deodato and Kool & the Gang. The song reached number five on the US Billboard Hot 100.
"Steppin' Out" is a hit song for Kool & the Gang. It reached #89 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #12 on the R&B chart. The song was re-released in 2004, featuring Beverley Knight, for the remix album The Hits: Reloaded.
"Funky Stuff" is a funk song recorded by Kool & the Gang for their 1973 album Wild and Peaceful. Released as a single, the song reached No. 5 on the US Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart and No. 29 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.