Melvin Sparks - I'm Funky Now (2017)

A previously unreleased album by funky jazz hero Melvin Sparks. This would have been his third album for the Westbound group of labels, but after being mastered, and a limited number of acetates produced, it was pulled from the release schedules and apart from one track on a compilation (1999's 'Alright! Black American Dance Music From The Disco Era') was never heard. Recorded in 1976 with the finest Detroit session musicians, it pays lip service to the then-current success of disco, but doesn't pander. Instead what you get is a heavily funky, orchestrated version of his usual style, with some fine grooves and some beautiful mellow moments.