arc records
“Inner City Review” by George Semper is the latest release to land on Gilles Peterson’s Arc label, the first full re-issue of the songwriter and musician’s ultra rare 1973 compilation released on 26th June 2020.
Arc Records is a new label focusing on curiosities and gems from the basement. “Inner City Review” features a stellar cast of vocalists, recorded after a formative stint in Las Vegas, where Semper backed the likes of Ray Charles, James Brown and Sammy Davis Jr, this record opened the door for his later work with his Inner City Records label. This is an all-killer, rarely heard collection of music, documenting an important moment in Semper’s career.
Order your copy here
Follow on instagram & twitter for all the latest updates from Arc
The record features a stellar cast of vocalists, spanning from the then established Jimmy Hayes (of The Persuaders), who graces the uptempo ‘Goody Goody Gumdrops’ and plaintive ‘Queen For A Day’, to the Semper-discovered Lewis Flournoy (aka Robinhood), Flouroy’s stunning, graceful falsetto first featured on a Semper’s 45 by Capitol Records - the the B Side of that 45 "Let's Live and Let Live" (Extended Version) is on ‘Inner City Review.’ These entries are some of the only material Flouroy ever recorded all co-written with Semper and Basey Green.
Likewise, Troy "Troiel" Raglin, who features in "The Love Affair" on two romantic soul entries co-written with Semper and Marshal McQueen Jr., was a Semper collaborator who went on to lead the wildly successful Spaceark band three years later. Marshall McQueen, Jr. who wrote the track "You're So Good To Me" recently passed in April 2020. He's most known as writer of Miles Graysons "Stuck In The Mud" but has thousands of compositions and is popularly known.
“Inner City Review” (ARC002) is reissued on Arc Records and available on 12” LP & digital download on 26th June 2020.
Buy/Steam HERE
Having had enough of these restrictions, she created this record to please no one but herself. As Scott expresses on the back of the original LP sleeve:
“All of the music recorded in this album is both personal and very purposeful to me, because it is the first step toward honesty about what and how I want to play. I’ve done a lot of other albums, a lot of different ways for a lot of different people and now, with the help of the Creator, in whom all things are possible, I have done one for me too.”
“Queen of the Organ”, Shirley Scott was born in Philadelphia in 1934 and lived there most of her life until her early death in March 2002 at the age of 67. Scott had a legendary recording career as a leader with 45 albums mainly released on Impulse and Prestige. Boasting a thriving career as a musician and composer, Scott progressed to a professor at Cheyney University in her later years. She was a treasured mother and grandmother, and a cherished friend of music scholar, Maxine Gordon, who’s honour it is to collaborate with Arc Records on shining a new bright light on this monumental body of work.
Buy/Stream HERE
A psychedelic, experimental jazz record, originally released in 1978, it marked a daring step forward by the Mexico City-based musician, and is now re-released for a chance to get the widespread dues it deserves. A limited private press, copies of the original are highly sought after, despite the drummer being much overlooked in both his home country as well as abroad, with a career that started in the 1950s, and which has seen him share stages with many of the greats – including Dave Brubeck, Cannonball Adderley and the Duke Ellington Orchestra.
Re-issued for the first time, it’s a chance to get acquainted with an especially bright moment for an artist whose legacy is surely due for greater attention. Bridging strongly-felt Mexican tradition with a grounding in a primo jazz schooling, “Musica Infinita” channels grand concepts into a visceral musical experience.
Buy/Stream HERE
Praise so far for Musica Infinita:
★★★★ - Record Collector
"An album brimming with original ideas."
★★★★ - Shindig
"Dazzling spectrum of sounds."
Tino Contreras Live Show 2020
