Jazz in the late 70s / early 80s (jazz goes pop, jazz goes disco)

There's a spectacular Earland track ("Ahead of Your Time") buried on The Great Pyramid, an otherwise middling-to-poor album. I've never seen it pop up on a compilation of any sort. It's on this mix, in case anyone's interested (most ot it's applicable to this thread, though it's mostly early/mid '70s).

This is the best thread I've read in a week. Ahh..

(1973) John Klemmer - Love Song to Katherine
(1974) Hamilton Bohannon - Thoughts and Wishes
(1974) José Feliciano - Golden Lady
(1977) Earth, Wind & Fire - Runnin'
(1977) George Benson - The Wind and I
(1977) George Benson - The World is a Ghetto
(1977) George Benson - Valdez in the Country
(1978) Eumir Deodato & EWF - Tahiti Hut
(1978) Joe Sample - Rainbow Seeker
(1978) Masayoshi Takanaka - Brasilian Skies
(1978) Roy Ayers - For Real
(1978) Roy Ayers - You Send Me
(1978) Weather Report - River People
(1978) Weather Report - Young and Fine
(1979) Bob James - Blue Lick
(1979) Dexter Wansel - New Beginnings
(1979) Eumir Deodato - Knights of Fantasy
(1979) Eumir Deodato - Lovely Lady
(1979) George Duke - Brazilian Love Affair
(1979) Grover Washington Jr. - Loran's Dance
(1979) Manzel - Midnight Theme
(1979) Masayoshi Takanaka - Radio Rio
(1979) Richie Cole - New York Afternoon
(1979) The Crusaders & Randy Crawford - Street Life
(1980) Eumir Deodato - Night Cruiser
(1980) Hubert Laws - Family
(1980) Masayoshi Takanaka - Finger Dancin'
(1980) Roy Ayers
(1981) Bernard Wright - 'nard
(1981) Masayoshi Takanaka - Rainbow Paradise
(1981) Roy Ayers - Destination Motherland
(1983) Nick Straker Band - Airwaves

...was sampled and turned into a Disco House song ala Daft Punk:

(1997) Sex-O-Sonique - I Thought It Was You

Okay, these two other things are more like the jazz-R&B to PW2's R&B-jazz, the interface viewed from the opposite direction (with some exceptions): At Frog Island, Rec Park 22 (aka Hot Flash/Shoulderpad Soul Vols 1 and 2).

Surprisingly to interweb friends, I'm just a loud mouthed drunk IRL.

TERRIBLE! what's with that stupid "shut up, white bitch" sample throughout it?

Must be a version I haven't heard. The version I know of is pretty much just loops form the HH song sped up with heavy 90's style 909 house drums over it. Not much more really.

Much love for Mtume's contributions to this era of Rollins. Both "Newkleus" and "Sais" from Horn Culture are essential cuts.

Further suggestions for Jaxon's original ask could be Norman Connors' Saturday Night Special or You Are My Starship, Carlos Garnett's Cosmos Nucleus or New Love or Azar Lawrence's People Moving. All of these arrived 76-78 and triggered some of those shifts from spiritual jazz to smoother, r&b-inflected jazz.

never placed Lenny White of Twennynine "Peanut Butter" fame w/miles' "bitches brew" & return to forever.

also in Twennynine was Don Blackman who had jazz roots playing in Charles McPherson's groups.

Bernard Wright also played in Lenny White's groups, as well as with Tom Browne (another jazz-funk/pop crossover star with "Funkin For Jamaica")

and Billy Cobham's album "A Funky Side of Sings" is total disco funk.

Just picked up this gem for a couple bucks:

http://www.earthwaverecords.com/Pictures/AlbumImg/H/A0072777.jpg

It is very much perfect for this thread and for my ears. Featuring the lovely Jeanie Tracy on vocals. It's probably best know for "You're Gonna Lose Me" but it's nice throughout.

Bobbi Humphrey, especially "Blacks and Blues" ... serious loft shit. I could listen to "Harlem River Drive" for days.

Does anyone here know more about Jamaaladeen Tacuma? By sheer chance I've managed to get gold of two of his early eighties albums, Show Stopper and Renaissance Man, which both offer a great synthesis of electric funk and free-oriented jazz. (Apparently Ornette Coleman, with whom Tacuma played back then, was doing something similar around the time, but I'm not too familiar with him.) His albums are very hard to find though, and I was wondering if any of the others are even worth bothering.

Oh yeah, I finally bough Sunlight because of this thread, and it is indeed a fun record, though not as good as Herbie's full-blown electro stuff from the eighties (especially Perfect Machine, which is near brilliant).

i just picked up Bob James' "12" from 84 because of the song on Cosmo Galactic Prism Mixed By Prins Thomas. the song is killer and there's one more on the album just as good.

i've been meaning to pick up a Jamaaladeen Tacuma album. he does a cover of Creator has a Master Plan that i heard once that's pretty cool

I've heard him do some free-funkish stuff with Calvin Weston, on some James Carter and Derek Bailey records, I think.