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By Larry, August 11, 2011 11:48 am

Billy Larkin (right) and the Delegates

Listen/Download – Billy Larkin and the Delegates – Agent Double O Soul

Greetings all.

The end of another long, hot, summer week is finally upon us and I have to say that despite all the sweating and sweltering, this has been a most excellent season.

There have been many prime DJ opportunities – which is especially groovy since I dig nothing more than tossing a few sets worth of 45s into the record box(es) and heading out to spin them for the peeps – a few extraordinarily lucky vinyl acquisitions, as well as a grip of the usual family-type summer hijinks.

Among the blogging-type things was the recording and mixdown of a couple of radio shows, including this week’s Funky16Corners Radio Show which will be hitting the airwaves of the interwebs this (and every) Friday evening at 9PM on Viva Radio. This week’s show is packed with snappy new arrivals, some tasty New Orleans funk and lots of groovy Northern and othern soul. If you can’t tune in at airtime you can always come by the blog over the weekend to pick the show up in MP3 form.

One of the highlights of the last week was the arrival of an unexpected package in the post.

I went out to empty the mailbox, and I found a 45 mailer (not surprising). What was unusual was how heavy the box was.
I didn’t recall ordering any lead ingots, so I took the box inside and opened it carefully.

What I found was a surprise package from my old buddy Haim (as serious a record head as there is) filled with a nice, fat stack of jazz and soul jazz jukebox EPs.

He just “thought I’d like them”.

How about that?

I’ve known Haim for a long time and when he was resident in this part of the country we went out digging together quite a few times and he was unfailingly generous in word and deed, not to mention the fact that his wealth of musical knowledge (a big factor in the formation of my tastes at the time) made him an ideal digging partner.

It’s always cool to hit the crates with someone who has a complementary digging skill set. You know stuff they don’t and vice versa, and at the end of the day you’re very likely to come away with a grip of solid stuff that you mightn’t have discovered on your own.

That said, we are now on opposite sides of the continent and our communication is largely restricted to the on-line and postal varieties, the latter bringing this week’s bounty.

Though I have yet to reach the bottom of the stack, one of the gems I have managed to digimatize is today’s selection, a cover of Edwin Starr’s ‘Agent Double-O Soul’ by Billy Larkin and the Delegates.

Mr. Larkin and his compadres have appeared in a number of Funky16Corners Radio mixes but I was shocked to discover that in the many years this enterprise has been extant they have never had a post of their own.

I have been remiss…

In order to remedy this a-blog-mination, I bring you today’s very tasty selection.

The PNW-based Larkin and the Delegates recorded a bunch of albums for Aura/World Pacific in the 60s in the standard Hammond combo mode, laying down a couple of certified classics (like ‘Pigmy Pts 1&2’) in the process.

‘Agent Double-O Soul’ was recorded many times, vocally and instrumentally, but I never heard Larkin’s version before this week, andI’d have to say that it is definitely among the best.

I don’t normally do this, but I will begin by suggesting that you give this track a listen on headphones with a good bass response or a loud sound system, because you will not get the full effect of the track if you don’t.

Like Toussaint McCall’s tour de force ‘Shimmy’, Billy Larkin’s ‘Agent Double-O Soul’ is a fantastic example of a Hammond-master hard at work with the bass pedals of his instrument.

Here you get the classic organ trio (Hammond, guitar and drums) at work, with Larkin’s feet playing a walking (no pun intended) bass figure on the pedals of the organ.

If you’re not familiar with the set-up I’m describing, set to Googling and check it out, on account of when it’s done right it’s truly a thing to behold.

I remember reading an interview with Jimmy Smith maybe 25 years ago where the master stated that if you weren’t playing the top and the bottom of the organ, you weren’t really playing it at all, and Billy Larkin could play it.

This version of ‘Agent Double-O Soul’ is a prime slice of mod, dancefloor soul jazz, due in large part to that throbbing bass, and the snare drum/handclaps (I think it’s a combo of the two) on the beat.

It swings like sixty.

I for one cannot wait for the opportunity to give this a spin on a nice, loud sound system.

Until then, crank up the volume on your home system, grab yourself a cold drink  and cut yourself a slice of rug.

See you on Monday.

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recreational events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (1)

By Larry, August 9, 2011 4:39 pm

Eddie Jefferson

Listen/Download – Eddie Jefferson – Freedom Jazz Dance

Listen/Download – Eddie Jefferson – Thank You Fallettinme Be Mice Elf Agin

Greetings all.

I hope that all is well.

The mighty originator of vocalese, Mr. Eddie Jefferson has been covered in this space a couple of times before.

Though his career dips way back into the 40s, Jefferson recorded steadily through the 60s and 70s, until his murder in front of the storied Baker’s Keyboard Lounge in Detroit in 1979.

Like most of his soul jazz contemporaries, Jefferson liked to stay ahead of the game, and continued to create new ‘vocalese’, much of it related to current material, like his remake of Herbie Hancock’s ‘Chameleon’ and the two tunes I bring you today.

Jefferson recorded the Eddie Harris composition ‘Freedom Jazz Dance’ twice in the 70s, both times for the Muse label.

The later version appeared in this space a while back and can still be heard as part of Funky16Corners Radio v.65.

I discovered the take I bring you today whilst out a-digging a few months back. I’m always game for some Eddie Jefferson I haven’t heard, and when I happened upon his 1974 album ‘Things Are Getting Better’, and noticed that it included several interesting covers (and cost less than a fiver) it went right onto the keeper pile and I took it home.

When it finally arrived on my turntable I was very pleasantly surprised to hear a different take on ‘Freedom Jazz Dance’ – less frantic and dare I say more funky – than the one previously featured, as well as a very groovy reworking of Sly and the Family Stone’s ‘Thank You Fallettinme Be Mice Elf Agin’, with new lyrics namechecking the greats of midcentury jazz.

The feel of the album is a little looser and fusion-y than his other efforts of the period, and listening to some of the cuts several times I find it shocking that it does not seem to have been sampled by anyone.

Jefferson was always a swinging cat, and ‘Things Are Getting Better’, which also includes a very dark and sinister take on ‘Bitches Brew’ is at least in my opinion, the finest thing he recorded in the 70s.

If you get a chance, pick up one of the reissues of his earlier work (or even better, look for some of it on OG vinyl in the field). I think you’ll dig it.

I hope you dig these sounds, and I’ll see you all on Friday.

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recreational events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (3)

By Larry, July 21, 2011 7:58 am

Idris lays into the traps…

Listen/Download – Idris Muhammad – Express Yourself

Greetings all.

I hope all is well on your end of the interwebs.

This being a truncated week – having allowed for a little marination with the Jerry Ragovoy tribute – I figured I’d close out the week with something funky.

First, it behooves me to step to the side and remind you all that Friday night at 9PM is Funky16Corners Radio Show time on Viva Radio, wherein I fall by with my big box of records and some words and fill the airwaves with soulful goodness. All of the shows are then MP3-ified and posted in the F16C Radio Show archive at the blog (here, in fact) where you can pull down the ones and zeros at your leisure.

I should also mention that this past Monday’s festivities at Botanica, wherein yours truly, joined by M-Fasis and DJ Hambone laid down several hours of tasty funk and soul to a very groovy crowd. Hopefully I can get some of the recorded sets posted in the next few weeks.  Thanks also to Dan behind the bar for the ginger beer.

That said, I came upon today’s selection fairly recently.

I’ll go ahead and assume that most of you have at least a passing acquaintance with the name Idris Muhammad.

What I’ll also say is, that I don’t think many folks know that Mr. Muhammad was born with the much less exotic name of Leo Morris, and was a New Orleans homeboy of folks like the mighty Neville Brothers. Morris/Muhammad came from a family of drummers, and as a teenager played alongside Art Neville’s Hawketts, Joe Jones and Fats Domino among others.

He relocated to New York in the early 60s and established himself as a jazz drummer, joining the band of Lou Donaldson, and spending the second half of the 60s and the early 70s recording soul jazz behind leaders like Donaldson, Grant Green, Leon Spencer and Lonnie Smith. Like guitarist Melvin Sparks (who plays on today’s selection) Muhammad seemed to specialize in backing organ sessions.

Now, when I got this 45, I blanked on the fact that the flip side was a cover of James Brown’s ‘Super Bad’, which was a very nice surprise indeed and it kicks, and I’ll make sure to whip it on you sometime soon.

That said, the tune I’m posting today is Muhammad’s cover of Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd St Rhythm Band’s ‘Express Yourself’.

After I digimatize this particular 45 and transferred the files to the old iPod, I gave both sides repeated listens, focusing (natch) on Muhammad’s drums, which snap like a mofo, but what really grabbed me, and it ought to grab you too, is the fact that his playing on ‘Express Yourself’ positively screeeeeaaammmms NEW ORLEANS!

Yesiree Bob, unfold your ears and take a listen to the drums breakdown around the one minute and thirty nine second mark and the funk gets all loose and second line-y. Get your head inside of those drums and tell me if you don’t hear a little bit of James Black, an almost exact contemporary of Muhammad’s who also came up out of New Orleans to make his mark as a jazz drummer (but is best known for the funk).

Muhammad lays down about 20 seconds of absolute magic, dancing back and forth between his kick drum and his snare in a laid back tidal wave of syncopation that is utterly mind blowing.

While I was writing this I just keep running the marker back and playing the breakdown in a loop and it just got deeper every time.

I should also note that the band is very groovy, with some nice electric piano action from Harold Mabern.

It is a tasty number indeed, and ought to hold you fine people over the weekend until I return on Monday.

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recreational events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (6)

By Larry, July 14, 2011 11:07 am

Johnny ‘Hammond’ Smith

Alphonso ‘Fonce’ Mizell and Larry Mizell

Listen/Download – Johnny Hammond Smith – Shifting Gears (45 Edit)

Listen/Download – Johnny Hammond Smith – Los Conquistadores Chocolates (45 Edit)

Greetings all.

The end of another week is upon us, and while I am as always up to my substantial ass in alligators, they are all (for a change) well trained and waiting to be fed.

I will be taking to the airwaves of the interwebs once again this Friday night at 9PM for this week’s edition of the Funky16Corners Radio Show on Viva Radio. This time out I have a very groovy, very summery set prepared, so if I was you I’d be muddling the mint and the lime for and icing up the mojitos since this will provide a better than suitable soundtrack for the sipping of hot weather beverages.

As always, if you have something better to do when the show airs, but still think that stuffing some groovy music into your ears will be beneficial, you can always stop by the blog over the weekend and pick the show up in MP3 form.

That said, if you’re in New York City on Monday night, 7/18 I will be manning the decks at Spindletop @ Botanica and will be joined by my friends M-Fasis and Joe Cristando for the spinning of the funky vinyl. I assure you that the sounds will be, in a word, oustand-a-licious (it’s made up, but it’s still a word), so you should fall by, see Dan at the bar about a cocktail and settle in for a night of good music.

As promised I will be using the end of week post to pay tribute to the passing of the great Alphonso ‘Fonce’ Mizell.

If you don’t know the name, Fonce Mizell, over the course of a career that lasted more than forty years left his mark on countless fantastic records.

He came up in Englewood, NJ alongside his brother Larry and their classmate Freddie Perren, all of whom eventually headed down to Howard University in Washington, DC (where they would cross paths with both Donny Hathway (student) and Donald Byrd (teacher).

Following graduation, Larry Mizell would detour for a time into a non-musical career as an engineer, and Fonce Mizell and Freddie Perren would head west to Los Angeles. They would both eventually be signed to Motown as staff writers, where they would eventually become (with Berry Gordy and Deke Richards) part of the songwriting and production team known as ‘The Corporation’.

The Corporation made their biggest mark working with the Jackson Five, writing and producing the group’s biggest early hits like ‘ABC’, ‘The Love You Save’ and ‘I Want You Back’.

After The Corporation went their separate ways in 1972, Larry and Fonce Mizell reunited, forming Sky High Productions, working in the studio with artists like Donald Byrd, Gary Bartz, Bobbie Humphrey, the Blackbyrds and today’s featured artist Johnny Hammond Smith.

The tracks featured today are the 45 edits of two tracks from Hammond’s 1975 ‘Gears’ LP (his second with the Mizells) , produced and almost completely written by Larry and Fonce Mizell. The album featured Sky High stalwarts like Harvey Mason (drums) and Chuck Rainey (bass) and both the Mizell brothers on backing vocals.

The oft-sampled ‘Shifting Gears’ is a funky electric piano showcase for Smith with fantastic contributions from Michael White on electric violin. The tune is a wonderful example of the Mizell brothers ability to craft a mixture of jazz fusion and funk with modern, dance floor-friendly production.

‘Los Conquistadores Chocolates’ is really the standout here, and a quick listen reveals why it was an early favorite at David Mancuso’s Loft parties and the disco scene in general. Opening with synthesized piano, drums, guitar, the tune bursts out into waves of stylish, synthesized strings. It never loses the propulsive power that so endeared it to the dancers, yet the Mizells and Smith manage to weave together a complex mixture of Smith’s Hammond organ, piano (electric and acoustic), vibes, guitar, drums and percussion that never gets crowded and is always pleasing and intriguing to the ear. The 45 edit omits the trippy opening interlude from the album, as well as the last minute and a half of the tune (you can hear the whole thing over at YouTube).

Though the Mizells did much to move fusion forward in the first half of the 70s, they moved on to have their biggest success producing Taste of Honey (who’s ‘Boogie Oogie Oogie’ was the Mizell brothers biggest hit) and LTD.

The brothers retired in the early 80s.

Fonce Mizell was 68.

I hope you dig the tunes, and I’ll see you all on Monday.

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recreational events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (6)

By Larry, June 26, 2011 4:01 pm

In black and white, like the keys, dig?

Dee Felice Trio – There Was a Time (King)
Don Randi – Taxman (Reprise)
New London Rhythm and Blues Band – Soul Man (Vocalion)
Ramsey Lewis – African Boogaloo Twist (Cadet)
Roy Meriwether Trio – What’s the Buzz (Notes of Gold)
Overton Berry Trio – Guacamolean Shuffle (Jaro)
Gene Harris – Green River (Blue Note)
Johnny Watson – Hold On I’m Coming (Okeh)
Mr Jim and the Rhythm Machine – Mrs Robinson (Date)
Junior Mance – Thank You Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin (Atlantic)
Cha Cha Hogan – Grit Gitter (Soulville)
The Stokes – Crystal Ball (Alon)
Allen Toussaint – HandsChristianAnderson (Bell)
The Music Company – The Word (Mirwood)
Mary Lou Williams – The Credo (Mary)
Backyard Heavies – Expo 83 (Scepter)
Ray Bryant – Up Above the Rock (Cadet)

Listen/Download – F16C Radio v.94 – The Living Piano – 86MB/256K Mixed MP3

Listen/Download – F16C Radio v.94 – The Living Piano – 63MB ZIP File

Head on over to the Funky16Corners Radio Podcast Archive to Check This One Out

Greetings all.

As mentioned previously, this is a Funky16Corners vacation week, but I love you mugs so much that I couldn’t very well decamp without leaving something to keep your ears busy while I was away.

The mix I bring you this week is something that had been percolating in my fevered brain for a long time, and was finally spurred on to fruition by the recent passing of Mr. Ray Bryant.

Though we have covered the piano before (see Funky16Corners Radio v.81) it was recordings of the electric variety thereof.

Having been brought up in a house with a master of the acoustic piano (that would be my Pop), I have always wanted to assemble my fave funky and soulful acoustic piano tracks, and so you have it (the mix, that is…).

Most of the numbers in this mix will be familiar to longtime followers of the Funky16Corners blog, whether via appearances in previous mixes, or having appeared by themselves at some point.

There are a number of previously unheard/unposted numbers as well, so dig those too.

Though the electric piano is the version of the instrument generally associated with funk and soul (mainly due to the electrification of music in general during the era in question) there were a number of recording artists – many of them rooted in jazz – who took the old-style acoustic piano, a massive conglomeration of wood, wires and ivory, and managed to wring a little funk out of it.

Though I love electric piano, there’s something special about the way a real piano resonates, especially when it’s played by someone that really knows the instrument.

Some of the recordings in question go back to the earliest days of my crate digging and blogging, including the Mary Lou Williams and Cha Cha Hogan 45s, where others are fairly recent acquisitions.

There are a couple of unusual tracks in the mix, in particular Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson’s one-off piano instrumental 45 for the Okeh label.

You also get a couple of tracks featuring Allen Toussaint, first with his early group the Stokes (dig ‘Soda Pop’s not so subtle variation on ‘Fortune Teller’) and a rare solo 45 (Hands Christian Anderson).

Mr Jim of ‘Mr Jim and the Rhythm Machine’ (with the swinging version of ‘Mrs Robinson’) is Philly area composer/arranger/keyboardist Jimmy Wisner who recorded a couple of 45s under this name for the Date and Wizdom label.

There are also a couple of anonymous pianists working it out here, including whoever tickled the ivories for the New London Rhythm and Blues Band (likely a UK studio musician) and the pianist for the Music Company, an LA studio group that recorded an album of Beatle covers for the Mirwood label in 1966.

Of the known jazz heavies in the mix, you get to choose from the likes of Mary Lou Williams, Don Randi, Gene Harris, Ramsey Lewis, Roy Meriwether, and Overton Berry, and the man we eulogized just this past week, Ray Bryant.

Having given it a number of spins, I can attest to the fact that it’s a lot of fun to listen to and I hope you dig it.

See you next week.

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo), in regard to the April 2nd walk.

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for some very tasty UK Folk Rock.

Comments (9)

By Larry, June 21, 2011 12:29 pm

Ray Bryant

Listen/Download – Ray Bryant – Up Above the Rock

Listen/Download – Ray Bryant – Quizas Quizas Quizas

Listen/Download – Ray Bryant – Soundray

Listen/Download – Ray Bryant – Stick With It

Greetings all.

I hope the middle of the week finds you all well.

As promised, I’m going to take a little time to pay tribute to the soulful genius of one of my favorite pianists, the mighty Ray Bryant.

Bryant, who passed on June 2nd was one of the mainstays of soul jazz piano in the 50s, 60s and 70s.

As has been mentioned in this space several times, I have strong feelings about the term ‘soul jazz’, in that so little of the music labeled as such really fits the bill in any meaningful way.

There are veritable mountains of wax with jazzers wading into more popular waters, especially in the 60s, but a jazzbo with a pop cover does not soul jazz make (especially since the style came into being organically).

The truth is, that where many – often purely in the interest of keeping their heads above water (and away from a day job) – jazz musicians took to a more “accessible” style in the 60s, many of them had no real aptitude for it, making for much of the bland and uninspired sounds that so many crate diggers are referring to when they badmouth the style.

The real heart of the sound – as is the case in vocal soul music – can be traced to gospel, wherein jazz and soul intersect on a giant (and wholly imaginary) venn diagram.

As the 50s became the 60s, many jazz musicians (with a concentration on organists, guitarists and saxophonists) while still stretching out on post-bop and modal jazz, began to experiment with gospel and R&B at the same time that those styles were evolving into what would become soul music.

By the early 60s, countless organ (and piano, guitar, sax, vibes and all of the possible combinations and permutations possible) combos were coming out of inner city clubs and into recording studios for labels like Prestige, Blue Note, Argo, Riverside and countless smaller independents and compressing the aforementioned mixtures into 45 sized, jukebox friendly slices.

As the popularity (and sales figures) of straight jazz began to decline, jazz musicians concentrated more on soul and pop jazz, hoping to cross over enough to put a little bread in their pockets. While many of these musicians were merely attempting to cash in, some of them found that they had a natural affinity (whether via age or inclination) for these sounds and found ways to innovate and make them swing.

One of the finest of these was Mr. Ray Bryant.

Bryant came up in Philadelphia (his brother Tommy was a bassist) and played alongside many of the giants of the bebop and hard bop eras.

He started recording under his own name in the 50s, and even found some pop success with his 1960 hit ‘Madison Time’.

The tracks featured today all come from Bryant’s tenure with the Cadet label between 1966 and 1969. He recorded seven albums for Cadet in those years, all a mix of original material, jazz standards and pop and soul cover material. He recorded in small and large group settings, often with the production assistance of none other than Richard Evans.

I’ve included tracks from his two final albums for the label in the 60s (he would return for one more in 1974), ‘Up Above the Rock’ (1968) and ‘Sound Ray’ (1969).

The title track of ‘Up Above the Rock’ is a shade over three minutes of pure brilliance, with a stunning Grady Tate breakbeat that makes it the most sought after (and expensive) of his albums. The mix you’re hearing today is from the album. The 45 mix is a little bit hotter, with the drums and the handclaps higher in the mix (check it out on Youtube).

The group is the trio of Bryant on piano, Ron Carter on bass and Tate on drums, augmented by Snookie Young on fluegelhorn and Dobbie Hiques on trumpet. The track sounds light years ahead of its time. No matter how many times I hear it, I expect someone to start rapping as soon as the piano comes in. If you listen to the way Kool G Rap and DJ Polo flipped it (barely) for ‘On the Run’, it’s not too far removed from the original. It’s about as funky as acoustic piano records get, and a great showcase for Bryant’s heavy, straightforward sound. It’s one of those records that I have to listen to multiple times in a sitting.

The other track from ‘Up Above the Rock’ is Bryant’s cover of Osvaldo Farres’ ‘Quizas Quizas Quizas’. The recording here is taken from my 45 and while still somewhat funky, has a much looser, more swinging feel to it. It was also sampled (with a little more subtlety) by Queen Latifah on ‘I Can’t Understand’.

The two remaining tracks are both from the 1969 ‘Sound Ray’ album. A trio session, recorded with Jimmy Rowser on bass and Harold White on drums, ‘Sound Ray’ is another funky session, produced again by Richard Evans. The album sees Bryant stretching out a little more, but still keeping things locked in the groove.

The title track is a hard charging tour de force (I love the opening duet with the bass and drums) with some wonderful keyboard work by Bryant.

‘Stick With It’ is a much more subdued affair, that sounds like a rebuilt version of Horace Silver’s ‘Song For My Father’ (which, oddly enough was also covered on the album).

Ray Bryant would go on to record for Atlantic, Pablo and EmArcy (among many others) through the 70s, 80s and 90s with his last album being a live, solo set recorded at Rutgers University in 2004.

He was a giant, and will be missed.

See you on Friday.

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recr events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (4)

By Larry, June 14, 2011 11:06 am

Odell Brown and the Organizers (above)
A recent shot of Odell Brown (below)

The Sounds of Odell Brown

Odell Brown and the Organizers – No More Water In the Well (Cadet) from Ducky
Odell Brown and the Organizers – Baby You Just Don’t Know (Cadet) from Mellow Yellow
Odell Brown and the Organizers – Think About It (Cadet) Cadet 45 5624B
Odell Brown and the Organizers – Mas Que Nada (Cadet) from Mellow Yellow
Odell Brown and the Organizers – Ducky (Cadet) from Ducky
Odell Brown and the Organizers – Raising the Roof (Cadet) from Raising the Roof
Odell Brown and the Organizers – Day Tripper (Cadet) from Raising the Roof
Odell Brown and the Organizers – The Thing (Cadet) from Raising the Roof
Odell Brown and the Organizers – The Weight (Cadet) Cadet 45 5624A
Odell Brown – Hard To Handle (Cadet) from Odell Brown Plays Otis Redding
Odell Brown – Respect (Cadet) from Odell Brown Plays Otis Redding
Odell Brown – Nitty Gritty (Cadet) from Free Delivery
Odell Brown – Free Delivery (Cadet) from Free Delivery

Listen/Download – Odell Brown Tribute Mix 97MB/256K Mixed MP3

Greetings all.

As I mentioned on Monday, this week will be devoted entirely to obits/remembrances of musicians who either passed on during the pledge drive, or who’s passing I became aware of during that time.

Monday saw a tribute (starting with an incorrect picture) to the mighty Benny Spellman, and today I bring you something a little bit special to give you an idea of how much I dig the music of the great Odell Brown.

I first became aware of Odell Brown and the Organizers back in the day when my man Haim hepped me to their single ‘No More Water In the Well’. I grabbed a copy and promptly fell in love with the group’s sound.

You all know I’m an incurable Hammond nut, but I’m also a huge jazz fan, and the music of Odell Brown (with and without his band) satisfied both needs quite nicely.

I’ve gone on in this space many times about soul jazz, and how rare it is to find an artist who really brought that particular fusion to purity. Odell Brown was one of those cats.

Born in Louisville, KY, Brown went to Tennessee State A&M before being drafted in 1960. Following his stint in the Army, he moved to Chicago and formed Odell Brown and the Organizers with musicians he’d first connected with in college, Artee ‘Duke’ Payne and Tommy Purvis (tenor sax), Curtis Prince (drums) and Master Henry Gibson (congas).

Indeed he was…

Between 1966 and 1970 Brown recorded three albums with the Organizers (Raising the Roof, Mellow Yellow and Ducky), as well as two solo albums (Odell Brown Plays Otis Redding and Free Delivery). He recorded one more solo album for the Paula label in 1971.

Brown spent the 70s working as a studio musician and musical director for artists like Minnie Riperton, Curtis Mayfield and Marvin Gaye, with whom he eventually co-wrote the mega-hit ‘Sexual Healing’.

He spent much of the 80s battling severe depression, but settled in Minnesota and returned to playing and recording in the 90s.

The albums he recorded with the Organizers, all produced by the legendary Richard Evans are some of the finest material released on the Cadet label in the 60s, and while hard to find (the 45s not so much) are all worth picking up.

His solo albums, minus the twin sax attack of the Organizers, operate at a slightly more soulful frequency, and while also hard to find, are definitely worth whatever it takes to acquire them.

The fact that most of the Cadet catalog remains out of print (particularly Richard Evans projects like the Soulful Strings) is nothing less than a crime.

What I’ve included in this tribute mix (available only as a mixed MP3, no zip file) are my favorite tracks from the Organizers albums and both of Brown’s Cadet solo LPs (I have yet to find a copy of the Paula album).

Hopefully this will serve as an introduction for those unfamiliar with Odell Brown, and maybe pack a few surprises for those in the know.

I hope you dig the sounds, and I’ll be back on Friday.

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recr events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (4)

By Larry, May 5, 2011 4:09 pm

The young doctor as intern…

Listen/Download – Mac Rebennack and the Soul Orchestra – The Point

Greetings all.

Following yet another Sisyphean (Sisyphusian?) slog the end of the week is finally upon us.

This has been another one of those weird weeks where any attempt to fall into the lockstep of routine was thwarted by the intrusion of both the necessary and the unexpected.

I had some doctor type ish to deal with as well all that brings with it, as well as the flotsam and jetsam of daily life, including still recovering from vacation.

Despite any number of valiant attempts to switch my mind to cruise control, I was given to contemplation, and came to the realization that despite all my crabbing about how busy I am and haw many things I have to do, I am in the end extraordinarily lucky.

Aside from the obvious (and sometimes not so) joys of married life and fatherhood, I also have the opportunity, via the blog, the Funky16Corners Radio Show (this and every other Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio) and DJ gigs to share the music I love so much with you good people.

Aside from any adolescent aspiration to become a 21st century Hugh Hefner, the fantasy that preoccupied me in the past was to engage in what I just described.

Sure, it probably manifested itself in an image closer to Wolfman Jack in ‘American Graffiti’, howling in the depths of the night while transmitting musical hoodoo over the airwaves, but as I listen (in the furtherance of both quality control and ego gratification) back to the interwebs radio show I put together each week, and then get feedback from folks that actually listen to the show, I get just enough of that spark running willy nilly up my spine and stabbing me right in the old pleasure centers to make do.

The days of the great masters of the ether are long gone, but if I can rub two sticks together and whip up just a little bit of that heat each week, I’m happy.

The tune I bring you today is yet another white whale of mine that I chased like Melville’s crazed mariner for many a year.

I do not recall where Mac Rebennack’s ‘The Point’ first made its way into my earholes, but as I am a connoisseur of both the sounds of New Orleans and the mighty electric organ (Hammond or otherwise), and a devotee of the mighty Dr. John (Mr. Rebennack’s later nom de musique), I did not merely want a copy of this particular record, but rather needed it quite desperately.

While I would not say that the Crescent City is particularly well known for organ 45s, it does have some spectacular examples of the subgenre to its credit, including James Booker’s ‘Gonzo’,  Bo Jr.’s ‘Coffee Pot’, the instro flipside to Candy Phillips’ ‘Timber’ (in actuality a certain Mr. Bocage on the keys) as well as the tune I bring you today.

As the story goes, young Mac Rebennack was set on spending his career squeezing sounds out of a guitar until he got shot in the hand and found his way (thanks be to the strange ways of fate) onto a piano bench. The rest as they say is history, with the good Doctor being one of those cats to whom one might spend a happy eternity listening to as he tickled the ivories. He is part of the long line of masterful New Orleans piano masters that includes Professor Longhair, James Booker and Eddie Bo, and as such probably ought to have a retinue following him around, with someone to hold his drink, another to dust off the keys and yet another to spread rose petals in his path on account of he deserves no less.

That said, ‘The Point’ was waxed in 1962 for the storied AFO (All For One) label, an organization founded as a self-determined black musicians collective. During the label’s original 1961-1963 run they issued just over a dozen singles by artists like Barbara George (with the million selling ‘I Know’), Tammy Lynn, Ellis Marsalis, Prince La La (as in ‘Who Shot the…’) and Willie Tee.

Though ‘The Point’ was not his first 45 (the crazed guitar instro ‘Storm Warning’ came first in 1959) it was his debut as a leader on the keys, and it is a record of singular brilliance.

This is not to say that it is any kind of display of technical virtuosity, but rather a small vinyl artifact that carries in its grooves all manner of soul, menace, night-time atmosphere, up to an including the ability to place in the listener’s mind the image of a young woman in some sort of brief and suggestive (perhaps fringed) outfit shaking (upon a purpose-built, raised platform of some sort) what the gentlemen of the time would refer to as her ‘moneymaker’ (if you know what I mean and I think that you do) in a smoky bar filled with cold beer and broken dreams, and whether or not someone’s out back in the alley turned upside down so that the contents of their pockets might spill out and satisfy a debt matters not because the kid behind the organ and his band (and the young lady) have you hyp-mo-tized with the groove.

It’s that kind of record, and as far as I know Mister Rebennack, either inside or outside his duties as Dr John the Night Tripper never really stepped into something like this again.

The flipside of the record is a nice enough jam, yet it lacks the whiff of eau de roadhouse (though the horns are real nice).

The aforementioned Mr Booker, a renowned master of the 88s also recorded some very tasty organ sides, but they are every bit as elegant and fine as his piano work, which is not a bad thing at all, but compared to the jagged edge of Mac’s sound here is something else entirely.

A very tasty record indeed, and one that filled a miniscule but important hole in my crates. Also a groovy window into the soul of young Mr. Rebennack before the left coast called and he packed up his John the Conqueror Root, Mardi Gras feathers and attitude and headed out to Cali-For-Ny-Yay.

I hope you all dig it as much as I do, and I’ll see you all on Monday.

Oh, but before I go, you will most definitely want to check this out:

”

Some very groovy folks down in DC and Virginia have put together what promises to be the show of the year under the name the Chocolate City Soul Revue, with performances by Marva Whitney, Martha High, Vicki Anderson, both Clyde Stubblefield and Jabo Starks (?!?!?) legendary James Brown MC Danny Ray, original members of the JBs, the Impressions, and 21st century soul man Eli ‘Paperboy’ Reed and his band the True Loves.

I mean, honest to god people, does it get any better than that?

The shindig goes down on June the 4th at the D.A.R. Constitution Hall in Washington, DC.

You can get yourself tickets via Ticketmaster.

Peace

Larry

 
Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recr events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (9)

By Larry, March 27, 2011 1:48 pm

Miss Della Reese

Listen/Download – Della Reese – It Was a Very Good Year

Greetings all.

How’s by you?

All is as well as can be expected on my end of the interwebs.

The weekend was relatively uneventful, and despite anything the calendar says, Spring has yet to arrive in any real way.

I should mention that I have a couple of very groovy DJ gigs in the pipe, details to follow soon.

I’m not going to be able to make it to the Allentown 45 show this year, but I don’t really mind.

The vinyl gods have been good to me these last few months, bringing in all manner of cool stuff, including a couple of longtime white whales, as well as a bunch of low priced, but uniformly excellent groovers.

I’ve also been edging up to the second big push in the reorganization of the Funky16Corners Record Vault and Podcasting Nerve Center, which always yields cool stuff from deep in the crates that had been unjustly neglected.

I just dug out a groovy Northern 45 last week that I had either forgotten about – or more likely – had not listened to closely the first time I found it. I like when stuff like that happens.

The tune I bring you today is one of the aforementioned white whales, which I chased like Ahab for a long time before finally landing it late last year.

When you mention the name Della Reese to folks, the reaction you get depends on generational variables.

Folks my parent’s age remember her career as a pop/jazz vocalist that produced a couple of big hits in the late 50s.

Younger folks will remember her mainly as a TV actress, on shows like ‘Touched By an Angel’.

Sit down with a couple of hip DJs, and you very well may hear tell of a lesser known, but truly interesting part of her career, when despite a lack of commercial success she managed to make some very soulful, very danceable records.

Back in the early days of the blog (2005) I featured one of these sides, Ms. Reese’s excellent take on Gene McDaniels’ soul jazz epic ‘Compared to What’, recorded for AVCO in 1969.

The tune I bring you today hails from 1966, and like that session was made with jazz trumpeter Bobby Bryant (search the F16C Podcast Archive for some of his groovier tracks) and his band.

The tune ‘It Was a Very Good Year’, was written in 1961 by Ervin Drake. It was originally recorded by the Kingston Trio, but the song will forever be identified with Frank Sinatra, who recorded – and had a hit with the song – in 1966.

The Sinatra version is a doleful lament, sung by an old man looking back on his life.

Della Reese’s version is a radical reworking of the song, both lyrically (she embellishes the verses) and stylistically. Arranged by Bryant, the song is recast as a funky, hard charging cri de coeur, less wistful than the musical equivalent of a fist in the air. Reese sings the song like someone who despite a colorful past, is looking forward to bigger and better things.

Her vocal is powerful, often sounding as if she was testing the limits of the recording equipment.

The band is on fire, with a pumping Hammond and remarkable drums. The recording has a very hot sound, and the snare and kick drum are – next to Della – the loudest things on the record.

This is one of those records that would have languished in obscurity, had it not been revived by DJs on the jazz dance scene in the UK. It has become increasingly popular with funk and soul DJs, and was reissued by the Jazzman label (with a live version on the B-side).

As far as I can tell, this version is not in print on CD and the 45 can be quite expensive, so unless you need one to play out, slip the ones and zeros on your pod-like-thingy and dig.

See you on Wednesday.

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo), in regard to the April 2nd walk. The whole Funky16Corners gang will be walking in support of autism services, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for some late period British Beat.

Comments (3)

By Larry, March 22, 2011 11:10 am

Melvin Sparks 1946 – 2011

Listen/Download – Melvin Sparks – Thank You Pt1

Listen/Download -Melvin Sparks – Thank You Pt2

Greetings all.

I had an excellent time spinning soul 45s last night at Spindletop @ Botanica in NYC. Once again my man Perry Lane was the host with the most, and some cool people (including my brother) came by to join in the fun. I recorded my sets again, and will be posting one of them on Friday, so stay tuned for that.

Late last week I heard via the Facebook grapevine that the mighty Melvin Sparks had passed, just short of his 65th birthday. The news was confirmed later that day.

If you’re a hardcore soul jazz fiend (like me) especially someone who really digs Hammond sounds, then his name looms large.

Born and raised in Texas, Sparks went on to be the go-to guitarist on late 60s/early 70s Prestige (and Blue Note) dates, working with heavies like Leon Spencer, Lonnie Smith, Charles Earland, Reuben Wilson, Rusty Bryant, Lou Donaldson, Caesar Frazier, Jack McDuff, Charles Kynard and Sonny Phillips among many others.

If you recognize a lot of organists in that list, it’s a testament to the fact that Sparks was a treasured sideman for the Hammond set, laying his licks deep inside the groove in a career that lasted more than 40 years.

Sparks also recorded a number of sought after albums as a leader for labels like Prestige, Eastbound/Westbound and Muse.
The 45 I bring you today (both extremely tasty sides) is his reading of Sly and the Family Stone’s ‘Thank You (Fallettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)’ (truncated here to just ‘Thank You’). It was recorded in 1970 with a tight group that included Idris Muhammad on drums, Leon Spencer on the organ (you really get to hear him cut loose on Pt2) and Virgil Jones and John Manning on horns.

Sparks’ style was economical, soulful and right in the groove. Listen to his sustain at the end of the verse phrases, and the way he builds complexity gradually, never flashy, but always solid.

Part one sees Sparks soloing, with Spencer comping in the background, the two masters switching places in part two.

It’s a fantastic example of the Prestige jazz funk sound, and an all-around great 45 with which to groove.

Melvin Sparks was a giant and he will be missed.

See you on Friday.

Peace

Larry

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo), in regard to the April 2nd walk. The whole Funky16Corners gang will be walking in support of autism services, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for some Laurel Canyon cool from Mama Cass.

Comments (0)

By Larry, March 3, 2011 10:15 am

The Gene Ludwig Trio

Listen/Download – The Gene Ludwig Trio – Mr Fink Pt1

Listen/Download – The Gene Ludwig Trio – Mr Fink Pt2

Greetings all.

I hope all is well on your end, and that my ramblings this week haven’t put you off your soul.

In programming notes, I will remind you now that the Funky16Corners Radio Show returns to the airwaves of the intertubes this Friday night at 9PM at Viva Radio, where the elite meet to beat the heat. I have lots of classics lined up for you this week, as well as something new and groovy, so make sure to tune in, or fall by this very blog over the weekend to pick yourself up an MP3 copy of the show to dig on your computer or the iPod like device of your choice.

It was last summer that we got the sad news that the mighty Gene Ludwig had passed on suddenly at the age of 72.

You all know that I practically bathe in Hammond organ sounds on a daily basis, and Mr Ludwig created some fine examples of that genre during his five decade career.

He was first and foremost a jazz player – with the chops to back up that designation – but he also soaked his fingers in groove grease as well, laying down some particularly groovy soul jazz.

Gene was also, and this is the most important thing, artistically vital until the day he left us, playing live and recording at the top of his game.

Today’s post is – as is sometimes the case – a celebration of the old, as well as the new.

The record you see above, is one of my favorite two-siders in Gene’s discography, 1962s ‘Mr Fink Pts 1&2’ on Pittsburgh’s LaVere label.

Recorded with the classic Gene Ludwig Trio, with Gene on Hammond, Jerry Byrd on guitar and Randy Gillespie on drums, ‘Mr. Fink’ amounts to a skoshi under six minutes of the finest, smoky tavern Hammond wailing, soulful burning that anyone has ever packed onto two sides of a tiny vinyl record.

Aside from the epic ‘The Vamp’, this is by far my favorite of Gene’s 45s for both its elemental fire, and as a showcase for his keyboard skills. If you’re a stone Hammond junkie – like me – there’s something exceptional about hearing a master’s fingers fly over the keyboard, really making that huge hunk of wood and wires sing, and it doesn’t get much better than ‘Mr Fink’.

What I’m really here to rap about though is the fact that Gene Ludwig laid down one of the finest albums of his career just before he passed, and it has just been released.

The CD ‘Love Notes of Cole Porter’, recorded with a very tight quartet (with two different drummers) is without exaggeration, up there with the finest organ jazz of the classic era. A collection of the finest love songs to flow from the pen of the legendary Cole Porter, many classics of what the cliché machine has designated the ‘Great American Songbook’, ‘Love Notes…’ sees (hears) Gene and his band, Mark Strickland on guitar, Lou Stellute on tenor and Thomas Wendt and Billy Kuhn alternating on drums (all very good), working in the classic Prestige/Blue Note style, and when I say that I’m not just blowing smoke.

The late 50s and 1960s saw a lot of different varieties of practitioners recording on the Hammond organ, from purely soul/R&B based cats working it out on now rare 45s (like Louis Chachere, RD Stokes and Leo Valentine), post-bop visionaries like Larry Young, and the cats running in the mainstream like Jimmy Smith, Jack McDuff, Jimmy McGriff and Groove Holmes, all of whom were widely recorded with widely varied results.

During the early part of his career, Gene Ludwig didn’t have the opportunity to record as frequently as many of those that I would consider his peers. Whether or not the consistently high quality of what he did record was merely a matter of conservation, i.e. never having been pressured to create more accessible/less inspiring records, or because all he had in him to create was pure class (I lean toward the latter) his legacy is smaller, and dare I say better.

That his final album reinforces that assessment is worth noting.

‘Love Notes of Cole Porter’ is every bit the equal of the best, swinging bop and soul organ sessions of the instrument’s (and Gene’s) golden era.

‘Love Notes of Cole Porter’ is also a gift to remind us that age need not be an impediment to a musicians growth. People do a lot of lip service to concepts like ‘maturity’ and ‘experience’, but listening to Gene wail and swing on this session one is treated to the sound of 70 years of technical prowess, seasoned by good taste and above all soul.

Another great thing about ‘Love Notes…’ is that alongside of well known material like ‘Night and Day’, ‘You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To’ and ‘What Is This Thing Called Love’, bona fide standards, covered hundreds of times by all manner of instrumentalists and singers, Gene works out on less familiar, but also exceptional numbers from Porter’s catalog like ‘I Love You’ and ‘Dream Dancing’.

This is serious, wonderfully played jazz and a fitting final statement from one of the great practitioners of the art.

You can pick up ‘Love Notes of Cole Porter’ directly from Big O Records, or over at CD Baby, where you can get it as a CD or as an MP3 download. You can hear samples of the album at both sites. It’s also available at iTunes, but make sure you search by the title, as a search of ‘Gene Ludwig’ only returns his older albums.

I hope you dig the sounds, and I’ll see you all on Monday.

Peace

Larry

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for some fuzzed out, crunching garage punk.

Comments (1)

By Larry, February 13, 2011 1:08 pm

Phil Upchurch

Listen/Download – Phil Upchurch – I Don’t Know

Listen/Download – Phil Upchurch – Bacn’ Chips

Greetings all.

I hope the dawn of a new week finds you all well and in a soulful groove.

I spent the better part of the weekend configuring a new workstation after the old (original) Funky16Corners laptop, that I had passed on to the kids, went belly up. Fortunately the transition from Vista to Windows 7 was a lot easier (and much less expensive) that that from XP to Vista, where a lot of the software I use for blogging and podcasts was suddenly rendered obsolete.

As we speak, I have completed the Monday posts for Funky16Corners and Iron Leg, and started work on next week’s Funky16Corners Radio Show, so it appears that we’re up to speed.

I should let you know that next Monday (2/21) I will be returning to Spindletop @ Botanica in NYC. It’s a very cool bar, and I assure you I’ll be bringing some very groovy records with me, so if you’re in the neighborhood, and feel like a cocktail and some soul might hit the spot, drop by.

The tunes I bring you today hail from the discography of one of the truly great and innovative labels of the 60s, Cadet.

They also come to you courtesy of the plectrum of one of the label’s greatest session musicians, Mr. Phil Upchurch.

If his name is familiar, it may be because he had a genuine hit in 1961, with the Phil Upchurch Combo and ‘You Can’t Sit Down’.

It’s more likely you’ve seen his name on the backs of (and the fronts of some) countless albums, where he contributed his talents on the guitar.

Upchurch was born in Chicago, and it was to that city he returned after his stint in the Army.

If you’re a devotee of the Cadet sound, you’ve heard Upchurch’s playing on productions by both Richard Evans and Charles Stepney (who produced/arranged this session), including albums by the Soulful Strings, Ramsey Lewis, Odell Brown, the Rotary Connection, Jack McDuff and even Woody Herman’s sessions for the label.

Upchurch also had the opportunity to record a few albums of his own for Cadet, including ‘Upchurch’ in 1969, and the album that includes today’s selections ‘The Way I Feel’ in 1970.

The two tracks I bring you today give you a flavor not only for Upchurch’s prodigious skill as a guitarist, but also for the way the Cadet sound synthesized the various and sundry musical threads coursing through the atmosphere at the time.

Both ‘Bac’n Chips’ and ‘I Don’t Know’ are both soulful, occasionally funky, with touches of rock (I hear bits and pieces of Hendrix) as well as the smooth, stylish, even artsy feel of Stepney’s best work.

Like Richard Evans, Stepney was nothing less than a visionary, instilling the records he worked on with imagination and style.

Upchurch would go on to record sought out sessions for Blue Thumb, as well as decades of making the records of other artists better than they might have been.

I hope you dig the tunes, and I’ll be back on Wednesday.

Peace

Larry

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg for some prime UK psyche/prog.