For the Love of Muse Records

A Muse Records Takeover — in collaboration with the For the Love of Muse Records Facebook group.

For any avid vinyl buyer of 70s modern jazz and fusion, Muse Records will be a familiar sight — that turquoise blue label with the curious harp and two-headed-bird logo marking out an oft-overlooked and slightly marginalised corner of the era's catalogue. Five years ago, the For the Love of Muse Records Facebook group was started to bring together like-minded listeners to share their thoughts and tastes about the label. It's been a pleasure to see the renewed attention Muse has received in that time — from US reissue label Craft Recordings and more recently from Time Traveler Recordings led by music impresario Zev Feldman.

This mix takes you on a journey through the label: from the laidback cool funkiness of Eddie Daniels opening proceedings, through the driving organ-and-sax combo of Willis Jackson, the serenity of Eric Kloss, and the third-stream greatness of Barry Altschul. The law states you can't have a Muse Records mix without a little Mark Murphy — he featured so heavily on the label — so there are two delicious slices of the man here. We’ve also pulled a couple of tracks from the excellent recent Time Traveler reissues: Kenny Barron's Sunset and the title cut from Buster Williams' Pinnacle.

The tracklist in full reads:

Eddie Daniels - Brief Encounter

Carlos Garnett - Black Love

Kenny Barron - Sunset

Hermeto Pascoal - Coalhada

Pat Martino - Along Came Betty

Walter Bishop, Jr. - Valley Land feat. Carmen Lundy

Mark Murphy - Sly

Dom Um Romao - Angels

Willis Jackson - The Goose Is Loose

Eric Kloss - Licea

Buster Williams - Pinnacle

Joe Chambers - Catta

Mark Murphy - Canteloupe Island

Bruce Forman - A Simple Waltz

Wallace Roney - Topaz

Barry Altschul - You Can't Name Your Own Tune

Sonny Phillips - Salaam 7

Buck Hill - Bossa for Sax

Ricky Ford - Take The Coltrane

Eric Kloss - Descent

Richard Davis - Forest Flower

The mix was compiled with huge thanks to Steve Williams of UK Vibe online magazine, who presents it on Blue-in-Green:RADIO in collaboration with the For the Love of Muse Records Facebook group. If you'd like to keep digging for Muse goodies and share them with fellow enthusiasts, you can find them on Facebook.