Rare Groove recommended listening:

Billy Butler
This Is Billy Butler (Prestige, 1969)
Night Life (Prestige, 1970)

Horace Silver
Finger Poppin' With the Horace Silver Quintet (Blue Note, 1959)
Song for My Father (Blue Note, 1964)

Jimmy Smith
Back At the Chickenshack (Blue Note, 1960)
Home Cookin' (Blue Note, 1959)
Prime Time (Milestone, 1989)

Lee Morgan
The Sidewinder (Blue Note, 1963)
Cornbread (Blue Note, 1965)

James Brown
Grits and Soul (Smash, 1964)
James Brown Plays James Brown: Yesterday and Today (Smash, 1965)

Pee Wee Ellis
Blues Mission (Gramavision, 1992)
Live and Funky (Instinct, 2002)

Stanley Turrentine
Look Out (Blue Note, 1960)
The Blue Note Quintet/Sextet Studio Sessions (Mosaic, 2002)

Ray Charles
The Ray Charles Story, Volume One (Atlantic, 1962)
The Birth Of Soul (Atlantic, 1991)

Eddie Harris
High Voltage (Atlantic, 1969)
The Artist's Choice: The Eddie Harris Anthology (Rhino)

Jack McDuff
Tough 'Duff (Prestige, 1960)
Bringin' It Home (Concord Jazz, 1999)

Lou Donaldson
The Natural Soul (Blue Note, 1962)
Alligator Boogaloo (Blue Note, 1967)

John Patton
Let 'Em Roll (Blue Note, 1965)
Mosaic Select: John Patton (Mosaic, 2003)

Dr. Lonnie Smith
Live At the Club Mozambique (Blue Note, 1970)
The Turbanator (32 Jazz, 2000)

Gene Ludwig
The Groove Organization (Blues Leaf, 2000)
Soul Serenade (Loose Leaf, 2002)

Jimmy McGriff
I've Got A Woman (Collectables, 1963)
The Worm (Solid State, 1968)

Charles Earland
Black Talk (Prestige, 1969)
Slammin' & Jammin' (Savant, 1998)

Shirley Scott
Soul Shoutin' (Prestige, 1963)
Queen of the Organ (Impulse, 1965)

Bobby Timmons
Soul Time (Original Jazz Classics, 1960)
Moanin' Blues (Prestige, 1998)

Bill Doggett
Hold It (King, 1959)
Honky Tonk (Harmony, 1967)

Richard "Groove" Holmes
Soul Message (Original Jazz Classics, 1966)
Legends of Acid Jazz: Richard "Groove" Holmes (Prestige, 1997)

Cannonball Adderley
Cannonball Adderley Quintet in San Francisco (Original Jazz Classic, 1959)
Mercy, Mercy, Mercy (Capitol, 1966)

Some other artists to check out:

Pianists:
Junior Mance, Les McCann, Gene Harris, Ramsey Lewis

Guitarists:
Grant Green, George Benson, Kenny Burrell

Saxophonists:
Willis "Gator" Jackson, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, David "Fathead" Newman, Gene "Jug" Ammons, Houston Person, Jimmy Forrest, King Curtis, Red Holloway, Hank Crawford