Kenny Dixon Jr. mostly comes up with quality music anyway on his releases, but alongside "Silence In The Secret Garden", "Black Mahogani" is THE Mooodyman album for me. "Shades Of Jae" is one of those typical "stop-and-go" burners as only the Moodymann can do them. Keeps on building and building but never completely releases the tension, teasing those folks on the dancefloor yearning for the bassdrum to kick in again. "Runaway" is epic and soulful; any other producer would have made three different tracks out of this one, but the Moodyman keeps them together and makes them a part of the fabulous journey this album is. A pleasure to listen to in one go, the tracks are thoughtfully connected. Blaxploitation Funk, sweet Soul music, raunchy playful Jazz, atmospheric Ambient interludes - it's all here.

If you only buy one Deep House album in your entire life, make sure it's this one.

BLACK MAHOGANI sees Moodymann continue his fearless output of deep, unabashedly African-American house. In particular, he emphasizes vocals here: on “Roberta Jean Machine,” he blends a looped vocal pattern over a blissful string sample, which is then reflected in the horn line. “Runaway” (with it’s related intro “I Need You So Much”) is so earnest and deep that it doesn’t matter where you’re going; it’s the journey that counts. And that journey continues into “I’m Doing Fine.” There’s a change of mood on “Back at Bakers (on Livernois)” -- the funk takes on a blaxploitation spy groove. “Mahogani 9000” and “Black Mahogani” set us back in more familiar, jazzy territory, with soul to spare.

When i first came across what is considered to be deep house, I wasn't all that impressed. It wasn't until I came across kdj's and charles webster's labels did I discover what house was right for me. The soul, Rhodes, roots... just the complete ambiance of these consistently perfect releases is astounding. Many of the quality issues I own take me back to the days of my parents playing Stevie Wonder, and the warm emotions that would inspire. A wholeness. The music presented by the afore mentioned artists and labels is about community and the splendor that shall arise. While the essence of Forevernevermore is present in Black Mahagoni, Black takes the cake. While Black Mahagoni isn't by any means an album to throw down at a party, it transcends Forevernever in aesthetics, spirituality, and is mixed appropriately so as to make it perfectly logical as a tale. I have yet to hear anything I dislike on kdj'd productions, but this is a must by all means for any lover of 'ambient deep house'