Lonnie Smith/Dave Newman - Boogaloo to Beck - Scufflin' 8481; Reuben Wilson/Andrew Beals - Boogaloo To The Beastie Boys - Scufflin' 8776

The Smith/Newman came out in 2003, the Wilson/Beals in 2004. Both albums use the same rhythm section of Doug Munro on guitar and LaFrae Olivia Sci on drums; never heard of either. Bernie Worrell, an old George Clinton hand, does a guest appearance on the Wilson album.

Beck is a singer I’ve never heard, and had never heard of until I bought this. He writes pretty interesting tunes. And Smith and Newman get deep into them, sometimes developing ideas that just make me gasp. I DO know who the beastie Boys are, though I don’t know their music much – I think they made a record with a proper rap band once. They don’t write terribly interesting tunes.

Smith is one of the giants of the Soul Jazz organ; Wilson isn’t. Newman is one of the giants of the Soul Jazz sax; Beals isn’t, though he trained with McDuff. You’d expect, on paper, that the Beastie’s album wouldn’t be worth listening to. But great though the Smith/Newman is, it’s quite overshadowed by the Wilson/Beals. The plain truth is that Wilson has always majored in enthusiasm and, on material such as this, it shows - AM.