The Swap Meet 26 April 2026

The Swap Meet is a market-stall sprawl of finds from across the spectrum of black music, where the logic is curatorial rather than chronological. Pass go at the Chicago soul continuum: Jerry Butler's Gamble & Huff productions sitting near Terry Callier's folk-tinged melancholy and Jill Scott's 21st century soul interpretation - alongside the Philly institution of MFSB's "Love Is the Message," one of those eternal records. Rufus and Chaka comes from their mid-70s peak on ABC, Campbell revisits Jhelisa's "Friendly Pressure" part of the '94 Acid Jazz scene (on Dorado) before switching to Brothers Johnson's jazz-funk alongside Spyro Gyra and The Crusaders. Further afield Gilberto Gil's "Maracatu Atômico" and the Aposento Alto gospel cut sit in the same programme as Tapper Zukie's Kingston pressure, Area Code 615's Nashville session-player funk, and a clutch of contemporary releases demonstrate that the search ain't over; sampling Chuck Bynum, The Mighty Tiny & The Many Few, and Glenn Meinecke. The modern soul pocket is well covered: Odyssey, Two Tons of Fun, Steve Parks, the Dianne Reeves track from her pre-Blue Note years.  That's the blurb - now it's time to listen.