Flying Groove

Released at the same time as Flying Funk, Flying Groove is another anthology compiled by writer Dean Rudland that surveys the jazz/funk/soul stew released by Bluebird's Flying Dutchman subsidiary during the late '60s and early '70s. There really isn't anything to distinguish this disc from its sister release ? there might be a little less emphasis on funk, but it's really just a continuation that offers more in the way of marginalized music that has become influential and further respected decades after release. Countless hip-hop producers have swiped licks from Gil Scott-Heron and David Axelrod records, and those who haven't have at least considered doing so. And it also has to be mentioned that this music has remained vital through dance-club culture ? at least the sect of the culture that has kept one foot in the past. Serving up a total of 14 cuts, Flying Groove includes selections from Gil Evans ("Crosstown Traffic"), Gato Barbieri ("El Pampero"), Tom Scott ("Head Start"), Esther Marrow ("Baby That's What I Need"), and Gil Scott-Heron ("The Revolution Will Not Be Televised"). Like Flying Funk, this is an excellent entry route into the era ? an era that continues to remain somewhat overlooked and undervalued, thanks in no small part to loud jazz purists.