TRACKLIST
A1 That's How I Feel
A2 Blue Blood
A3 It's Impossible
A4 Put It Where You Want It
A5 Crazy Medicine
B1 Joie De Vivre
B2 Papa Hooper's Barrel House Groove
B3 Thrill Is Gone
B4 Raven Speaks
B5 Samba Chimba
DESCRIPTION
Since its formation in 1969, Soul Media had been advocating a fusion of jazz and rock.
The next step along that line was this album, “In the Groove,” recorded in 1973.
The sharpness of jazz is brought to the forefront, with rock melting in to give it an edge, and funk injected to imbue it with power and resilience. The result was a strong, sophisticated, and simply “cool music” that could not be categorized within existing genres such as jazz rock, jazz funk, or fusion.
This work is also described as a response to The Crusaders, a group that Jiro Inagaki was paying attention to at the time. His aim was right on target. With this album, Soul Media acquired a “sophisticated black feeling” and headed for their final destination, “Funky Stuff.”
Text by Yusuke Ogawa (universounds)