The Hi-Fly Orchestra means all-acoustic jazz with a totally infectious & heavy dancegroove that always gets the crowd on the floor! 

The heavy and rough rhythms are played by drums, double-bass, congas and piano, supporting the wonderful horn-lines by sax and trombone. The high musicality of the 6 members of THFO and the original sound of their instruments assure the most authentic perfomance with absolute high-energy playing!

THFO was founded in 2005 by Jerker Kluge and Florian Riedl. Though played by young musicians, who are influenced by all kinds of todays music, the intent was to create music that sounds as hip as the classic jazz records of the blue note era. Music to dance, without DJ´s, electronics or samples, just pure acoustic music!

One more time! Funky16 Radio Sound selected by Larry Grogan.

1. Capitols – Afro Twist Time (Karen)
2. Slim Harpo – Dynamite (Excello)
3. Bill Cosby – Hikky Burr Pt1 (UNI)
4. Brother Jack McDuff – Hunk of Funk (Blue Note)
5. Donald Height – Life Is Free (Hurdy Gurdy)
6. Stevie Wonder – We Can Work It Out (Tamla)
7. John Phillip Soul & His Stone Marching Band – That Memphis Thing (Pepper)
8. NF Porter – Keep On Keeping On (Lizard)
9. Joe & Everyday People – Sleep Walk (Brooks)
10. Dyke & The Blazers – Funky Walk (Original Sound)
11. Mongo Santamaria – We Got Latin Soul (Columbia)
12. Mickey & the Soul Generation – Football (Maxwell)
13. Johnny Talbot & De Thangs – Pickin’ Cotton (Jasman)

West-African styles and American Funk. Body Music, Afro Funk's 1975 LP, was recorded and released in London, England.

The band was comprised mostly of West-African expatriates residing there. At the time, the city was host to a vibrant African music scene. The massive success of Osibisa created a swarm of young bands trying to use London as a launching pad for international stardom. Unfortunately, Afro Funk did not find the success they were looking for and Body Music became their only album. The deep funk grooves and driving afrobeat rhythms featured on this rare LP have made it a desired addition to record collections around the world.

After its small private press release in London on "Kabana Records," Body Music was also released in extremely limited quantites by Kojo Asare's Chairman Records in Ghana. Despite the well crafted mix of various West-African styles and American funk, without the support of a label and no major touring it quickly faded into obscurity. Today copies rarely surface.

UK Urban Latin Funk. Let's Boogaloo!

Formed by Colombian singer Martha Acosta and bass guitarist/MD Don Fiora (Javier Fioramonti) for the Hogmanay festival in Edinburgh 2001. Manteca proved to be at the cutting edge of the Latin scene, leading over 3,000 people at the World Music Stage "salsa-ing" into the New Year to their unique style of Urban Latin Funk.
Since then Manteca is well known for creating a party mood at festivals and gigs all around. Manteca's personnel are all luminaries on the UK Latin scene. The rhythm section comprises powerful drummer Vancho Manoilovich , Satin Singh on congas, and Dave Oliver on keys. In the brass section, Manteca has three top names: trumpeters Paul Jayasinha and Sid Gold , on saxes Ben Somers / Finn Peters and Paul Taylor on Trombone.

From Richmond Virginia, Funk /Soul & Latin Jazz. International Salsa Music!

Bio Ritmo has invested over two decades in the study and performance of ‘salsa’ music – a genre that evolved during the 60’s and 70’s that fused traditional African, Latino and Caribbean rhythms and melodies with American Jazz sensibilities. The members of Bio Ritmo represent a new generation of ‘salseros’ and are recognized around the globe for their innovative song writing and for pioneering the ‘indie’ salsa movement. This movement aspires to not only preserve the roots of salsa but to contribute to the evolution of the music by incorporating new sounds, rhythms and influences from around the world.

Based out of Richmond Virginia, since 1991, Bio Ritmo began as an experimental percussion ensemble. Founding members Jorge Negron, Rei Alvarez and Jim Thomson shared a love for classic salsa and soon thereafter decided to expand the group’s instrumentation, thus creating a full-fledged salsa orchestra.

Over the last 21 years, the ten-member, Bio Ritmo has performed throughout the US, Puerto Rico, Canada, Europe and The Republic of Georgia. They have independently released 10 albums.

Biónico (Locutor, 2008)
La Verdad (Electric Cowbell, 2011)
Puerta Del Sur (Vampi Soul, 2014)

The Quantic Soul Orchestra is a live band project of musician and DJ, Will Holland. Holland has recorded under several names, most notably Quantic. Tropidélico was recorded in Colombia, where Holland is now based.

The Quantic Soul Orchestra - Stampede (2003)
The Quantic Soul Orchestra - Pushin On (2005)
The Quantic Soul Orchestra - Tropidelico (2007)

A collection of super-rare salsa from 1960s & 1970s Colombia! Explosive Latin Percussion.

Since 1934, Disco Fuentes (Fuentes Records) has acted as the largest record label in Colombia, a country where it is impossible to escape music. This collection of tracks delves into the golden years of 1960-76 and is hand picked from the enormous Fuentes record catalogue comprising various tropical music styles. Cumbia, Gaita, Fandango, Salsa and Champeta all feature in the selection from one of the worlds best Latin music archives.

One LP Afro-centric band (originally from Trinidad), that mixed rhythms from Africa & the West Indies with elements of Jazz, Funk, Calypso & Soul. Originally released in 1976.

Afro-Funk, Latin Groove & Jazz Tropical. Selected by Comet Records.

John Armstrong Presents ¡Cuban Funk Experience!

Funky Sounds From Cuba & Miami 1973-1988

From son, jazz, funk with psychedelic influences & electronic experimentation. Heavy dose of Cuban Soul.

Released on the Discos Fuentes Label between 1967 & 1977

16 tracks of the finest guaguancós, descargas & cumbias recorded by legendary bandleader Michi Sarmiento y sus Bravos.

Pure Colombian Dancefloor!

Born into a musical family in 1938, Michi, a musical-child prodigy of sorts, began playing the cabarets, casinos and cathouses of Cartagena in the late 1950’s. By 1967 he had formed his Combo Bravo (the band consisted of two trumpets, Michi on tenor sax and clarinet, guitar and piano, electric bass, tumbadora, timbales and a young Joe Arroyo on vocals) and began to play live alongside other exciting young groups such as Toño y su Combo, Los Seven del Swing and Puerto Rico y su Combo.
Along with infectious dance porros and cumbias, Michi y sus Bravos specialized in rumbling guaguancós, descargas and hot covers of early salsa and boogaloo hits. Michi’s LPs on Discos Fuentes, brilliantly produced and recorded by Mario ‘Pachanga’ Rincón, were packed with fast-paced dancefloor burners featuring pumping bass, insistent montunos, sax solos and nasty metallic percussion.

On continue dans la série Cult Cargo :

Belize City Boil Up + Grand Bahama Goombay

Fusion Latin Soul, Disco Funk & Reggae Calypso... West Indies Style!

Cult Cargo: Belize City Boil Up
The national dish of Belize is a diverse mixture of ingredients: pig’s tail, potatoes, plantains, bananas, boiled eggs, yams, and whole fish, thrown in a pot and stewed to perfection. They call it a boil-up. Cult Cargo: Belize City Boil Up combines equal parts R&B, calypso, disco, funk, reggae, bruckdown, soul, folk, and other sounds scraped off the musical pantry’s bottom shelf, though it’s anything but leftovers. See the Harmonettes’ speedy, robustly recorded take on “Shame, Shame, Shame” or tropical pulse and electro stabs on Lord Rhaburn’s “Disco Connection.” Before our very own Rob Sevier showed up on Belize’s sand-swept shores, little was known of the tiny Central American nation’s vibrant musical history. Since then, we’ve scoured the catalog of Belize’s lone record label, Compton Fairweather’s C.E.S., for choice delicacies derived from American genres gone mutant under intense Belizean sunlight, gathering a hurricane of battered photos, album sleeves, and ephemera, amassing a sound souvenir that’s more like a recorded jaunt through a dance-infected Belize long gone. Our sturdy gatefold double-LP edition includes two bonus tracks...dashes of extra flavoring you won’t find plated by any other Numero product.

Cult Cargo: Grand Bahama Goombay
The second in our series exploring the pan-American funk experience, Cult Cargo: Grand Bahama Goombay is a deep overview of Funky Nassau’s redheaded sister city, Freeport, on Grand Bahama Island. A "cargo cult" is what happens when one culture begins worshipping the byproducts of another; Cult Cargo is what happens when that devotion is returned. From 1969 to 1976, Frank Penn’s GBI studio and label cranked out a dozen LPs and twice as many singles, each infected by the Detroit-by-way-of-Miami sounds drifting east across 100 miles of Florida strait. GBI's catalog is a fruity blend of poolside soul, second-deck cruise ship karaoke, sand-in-your-bathing-suit funk, jump rope rhymes, hurricane-ravaged R&B, the regional delicacies of rake n’ scrape and goombay....plus a 13-minute “Mustang Sally” that stresses the classic to breaking point, and goes ahead and breaks it. Fire up the blender, crank the stereo, and slather on the SPF 35. Have your mail held. Frank Penn's funked-up Freeport, Bahamas, is a mouse click, a play button, or a needle drop away.

70's Best of Latin Original Albums

Ray Barretto - The Message (Fania Records, 1971/72)
Cortijo & His Time Machine - Y Su Maquina Del Tiempo (Coco Records, 1973)
Cal Tjader - Primo (Fantasy, 1973)
Eddie Palmieri - The Sun Of Latin Music (Coco Records, 1974)
Charlie Palmieri - ElectroDuro (Coco Records, 1974)

Et voici le Volume 2 de la série Ivory Coast Soul.

Afro-beat to Afro funk, Soul, Soukous & Latin rhythms, all mostly recorded in Abidjan from 1976 to 1981.

EMI Records Funk, Samba Soul & Bossa Groove entre 1965 & 1977

"Europe's number one Afro Cuban Jazz group Snowboy And The Latin Section...

This Afro Cuban Jazz album covers the Cuban styles of Mambo, Salsa, Palo, Descarga and Mozambique, making this the bands most versatile album to date." Freestyle Records Website.

UNE TUERIE !

Here we are on the Volume 3! The unique Mix of Tropical Music from Panama. Great Pleasure.

Para Gozar.

Et voici le Volume 2. A déguster avec un vieux Ron Abuelo. La Murga de Panama y Tropical Pusation!

Es Para Ti

Premier Volume d'une série consacrée au Panama. Selected by Miles Cleret from Soundway Records.

Tropical Groove en Fusion.