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I’ve been pretty amazed by the variety and quality that the loose group of New York musicians affiliated with the Desco/Daptone Records juggernaut has maintained over the past decade, combining funk, Afrobeat, and hard soul. Flagship band the Dap-Kings have enhanced the already considerable appeal of singer Sharon Jones to the point that they’re headlining the Vic with her on Thursday (it wasn’t so long ago that they were playing the Double Door), and their members have also turned up in various combinations backing Amy Winehouse, Al Green, and Lily Allen, among others. Other label-affiliated groups, some of which predate the Dap-Kings, include the Daktaris, Antibalas, the Soul Providers, the Sugarman 3, and the Budos Band.
Roberto Roena, Roberto Roena y Su Apollo Sounds 2 (Fania)Jutta Hipp, Jutta Hipp With Zoot Sims (Blue Note)Billy Bauer, The Billy Bauer Quartets: Let’s Have a Session (Fresh Sound)Evan Parker, Boustrophedon (ECM)White Hinterland, Phylactery Factory (Dead Oceans)
