THEATRE WEST – THEATRE WEST ( 1976 ) VARIOUS – SOUL LOVE NOW: THE BLACK FIRE RECORDS STORY 1975-1993.CLASSIC SOUL & INCREDIBLE VIBES,SPIRITUAL JAZZ,JAZZ-FUNK,PERFECT TRACKS ( AND INTRODUCTION IN OTHER GEMS IN LP´S ) .INCLUDE ONENESS OF JUJU–AFRICAN RHYTHMS (LIVE IN WASHINGTON DC, 1975).Hailing from Dayton, Ohio, Theatre West was a music and drama troupe that travelled and performed throughout the US during the 1970s. Made up of musicians, singers and dancers, it was led by composer and playwright Clarence Young III. “The group gained local and national fame In 1971 with the production of ‘The System’, which portrays the plight of being black in a prison called America ... performing skits, songs and dances based on the theme that black people are ‘children of tomorrow...

 https://www.backatcharecords.com/product/theatre-west-limited-ep

https://black-fire.bandcamp.com/album/soul-love-now-the-black-fire-records-story-1975-1993

Strut present the first ever compilation bringing together classics and rarities from the seminal spiritual jazz and conscious soul label Black Fire, spanning 1975 to 1993.

Formed by DJ and record producer Jimmy Gray in Richmond, Virginia, and following in the footsteps of other influential black-owned independent labels like Strata-East and Tribe, the foundation of Black Fire coincided with saxophonist James “Plunky” Branch returning to Richmond from New York to form Oneness Of Juju.
The band’s ‘African Rhythms’ album in 1975 was the perfect fusion of jazz, deep African polyrhythms and empowering lyrics and bassist Muzi Branch, a trained artist, created the first of many Black Fire hand-illustrated sleeves for this release.
The album set the tone for a series of landmark releases on the label including Oneness Of Juju’s ‘Space Jungle Luv’ (1976) and debuts from soulman Wayne Davis (1976) and early go go pioneers Experience Unlimited (1977).
Gray continued to use his influence and strong A&R instincts to bring in more key artists – great jazz players like Byard Lancaster and
Hamiet Bluiett, Ghanaian master percussionist Okyerema Asante and talented collectives including Southern Energy Ensemble and music / drama troupe Theatre West. Due to personal and cashflow issues, many releases had to be canned and only surfaced subsequently on CD releases during the early ‘90s.

‘Soul Love Now’ brings together some of the many highlights
from the label onto one essential compilation. Opening with Theatre West’s powerful soul message ‘Children of Tomorrow’s Dreams’, the tracks include a Byard Lancaster recording with Tunde Kuboye’s Drummers Of Ibadan in Nigeria and Lon Moshe’s driving jazz dance classic ‘Doin’ The Carvin’ For Thabo’. Wayne Davis brings the explosive gospel rare groove ‘Look At The People’ while Plunky’s JuJu and Oneness Of Juju feature with three tracks spanning their career, including
a storming previously unreleased version of the classic ‘African Rhythms’ recorded in DC in 1975.
‘Black Fire’ features extended sleeve notes with extended interviews with musicians from the label and includes a reprint of one of the three Black Fire magazines published by Jimmy Gray which predated the launch of the label. 

https://soundcloud.com/backatcharecords/theatre-west-children-of-tomorrows-dreams-1976

https://soundcloud.com/backatcharecords/theatre-west-cool-out-your-mind-1976

https://soundcloud.com/backatcharecords/theatre-west-no-more-junk-1976

https://soundcloud.com/backatcharecords/theatre-west-searching-for-ourselves-1976

Limited 12" EP w/full colour art-work - Four recordings of Theatre West on vinyl for the first time from the vaults of Black Fire Records.

Originally recorded in 1976 in DC for Jimmy Gray’s Black Fire Records (Oneness Of JuJu, Experience Unlimited, Okyerema Asante ‎etc), Theatre West’s studio efforts remained shelved until 1993 when a local CD-only release was made available from Gray’s tape archives as evidence of its existence.

Now in November 2019, Theatre West’s recordings are released on vinyl for the first time by Backatcha Records thanks to James ‘Plunky Nkabinde’ Branch who supplied the original master tapes recorded at Arrest Recording Studios in Washington, DC.

Hailing from Dayton, Ohio, Theatre West was a music and drama troupe that travelled and performed throughout the US during the 1970s. Made up of musicians, singers and dancers, it was led by composer and playwright Clarence Young III.

“The group gained local and national fame In 1971 with the production of ‘The System’, which portrays the plight of being black in a prison called America ... performing skits, songs and dances based on the theme that black people are ‘children of tomorrow's dream, today's spirit, and tomorrow's hope." (WSU Guardian Student Publication, 1972)

Fellow musician and composer Delbert Taylor was Musical Director for Theatre West. A Dayton native known for his work with Slave and Gil Scott Heron’s Midnight Band, he’d previously recorded with The Fabulous Originals on their one-off sought-after funk burner 45 ‘It Ain't Fair But It's Fun’. By the mid-70s he was based in Washington, DC alongside fellow Theatre West and Midnight Band players including vibes-player Ben Wilson and bass-man Sigmond Dillard, often collaborating on recordings with local jazz musicians.

Performing a play called ‘Black Love’ in theatres around the city, Theatre West’s musical output was all soul, funk and jazz, catching the attention of disc jockey Jimmy Gray who was scouting for talent for his new Black Fire imprint. Alongside Clarence Thomas and his troupe, Gray co-produced an album’s worth of Theatre West recordings at Arrest Studios. However, due to funding shortages and other commitments, the tapes never materialised onto record until now.