Comments (19)

By Larry, November 4, 2011 5:12 am

Head over to Amen Brother to check out the mix and the set list!

Greetings all.

I know that after my post on Monday, it seems incongruous that I should be returning to this very space on Friday.
However, there are explanations aplenty.

I should start by giving a brief recap of the situation, that being, that after a week of feeling fatigued, my beloved wife has landed in the hospital with a case of leukemia.

In a short two weeks our world has been turned upside down, with everything we considered secure and normal shaken to its roots.

She’s weathering this disturbing (understatement alert) experience with a good deal of grace and courage, and I can only hope that I can try to match that from my side of things.

This is proving to be a painful lesson in the value of rolling with the punches, or at least attempting to do so, since no one likes to go through life catching punches, literal or figurative.

That said, we’re just trying to hang on, adjusting to the new (abnormal) ‘normal’, and doing what we can to stitch the whole mess back together as best we can.

Earlier this week, we were discussing life in general and Jen said that she’d had an opportunity to read Monday’s post (wireless internet and hand-held devices facilitating such things in the hospital setting) and she expressed her wish that I continue writing during this time.

I won’t argue with her, but I will state that anything I get posted here or over at Iron Leg will have to be wedged into the schedule as time (and sanity) allows.

I certainly have tons of stuff recorded and ready to go, so it’s only a matter of the writing and the interwebbing.

There is definitely something to be said for the restorative nature of creative pursuits, but if the old engine isn’t firing on all cylinders (said engine being what’s left of my brain) I can’t even take advantage of that, so bear with me.

I have to say that I am especially thankful for all the messages of support.

This Friday marks the seventh anniversary of the Funky16Corners blog.

It was on November 4th of 2004 that I transitioned from the old web zine format into something different, which in the beginning didn’t bear much resemblance to what you see today, unless of course you were to take Funky16Corners and Iron leg and stitch them together.

It wasn’t very long until things were purely soulful, and here we all are, seven years later, still riding the rails of the interwebs, engaged in a shared love of music.

I have always found the most satisfying part of this thing to be when one of you good people steps forward to add some info to the conversation, or merely to say thanks.

I guess that the blog is my way of expressing my thanks to all of you, at least as a reflection of how much I have always loved when someone turned me on to new sounds.

The really groovy thing is, that where I used to have those same conversations with my crate digging buddies in person, through the Funky16Corners blog I get to have the same kinds of exchanges with people from all over the world.

In this day and age where McLuhan’s Global Village seems like a dark place, it’s heartening to discover that some of us can find our own rays of light in the murk.

What you see before you is a brand new mix, conceived of and completed long before our current problems.

My man Pete Cadden of the Amen Brother crew over in Ireland saw that the anniversary of the blog was approaching and asked if I might be interested in putting together a guest mix for their site to mark the occasion.

Naturally, I said yes, and got to work on the mix you see before you (details over at MNtothat), just about an hour of tasty mid-tempo funk seasoned liberally with breaks.

There are a couple of familiar tunes, some very groovy b-sides and perhaps a few things you’ve never heard of before.

Also, make sure you check in with the Funky16Corners Radio Show, Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio (archived here on Saturday as an MP3).

I hope you dig it, and I’ll see you all soon.

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 (4)

By Larry, October 18, 2011 12:22 pm

Hi Rhythm

Listen/Download -Hi Rhythm – Black Rock

Greetings all.

How’s things?

Hereabout, things is groovy, aside from the fact that I am in dire need of heading out into the wild and getting my dig on. You can prowl around on Ebay all day long and no matter how many cool things you see, there’s no substitute for real world, dusty fingers digging

Unfortunately, the last couple of record shows that rolled through the area coincided with family responsibilities and the actual ‘digging’ spots within reach aren’t always worth hitting up, so I pretty much have to bide my time and be happy with the gigantic, heaving pile of vinyl I already have.

Part of that pile is the 45 I bring you today.

The way things work on the old Funky16Corners blog is that I tend to digimatize vinyl as it comes in, and if it’s something I plan on blogging, I photograph the label, tag the MP3 and stockpile it.

Many (most) of those tracks end up here on the front page in individual posts, while some end up in mixes.

However, if the gods of wax are smiling on me, I usually end up outpacing the outflux and end up with a good-sized pool from which to select what you end up seeing here.

However, as that process unfurls, I sometimes end up with things that have either been put on the back burner (for a variety of reasons, including need for further research or proximity to something similar that just got posted), or, in the case of today’s selection, plain old forgotten.

Because of that, I try to go back through the lists of things waiting to be blogged and try to move some unjustly bypassed tracks to the front of the line, harkening back to my days in the grocery profession, rotating stock for freshness.

The tune I bring you today is one of those ‘haven’t heard it but know it’s good’ deals which I picked up almost three years ago mainly on the strength of the group name and other important info on the label.

Back in the day, when I picked up my first Willie Mitchell album, the thing that hit me first was the prevalence of the surname Hodges in the credits.

This had everything to do with the fact that Mitchell’s back up band was composed in large part of a set of brothers bearing that name, Charles, Leroy and Teenie (Mabon) Hodges (organ, bass and guitar), who along with Howard Grimes (drums) and Archie Turner (keyboards) laid down that other wonderful Memphis sound.

They not only backed up Willie Mitchell, but did the same, extremely well, for pretty much everyone else who recorded for the Hi label, including (and most importantly) Al Green.

It was Mabon Hodges (composer of this very track) who co-wrote some of Green’s best songs, including ‘Love and Happiness’ and ‘Take Me To the River’.

The strange thing (for me anyway) is that for as long as the Hi Rhythm section (billed here as Hi Rhythm) was playing for so many other folks, they didn’t get the chance to step out on their own until 1975 with the release of their album ‘On the Loose’.

The single from that album, and today’s selection was the very groovy ‘Black Rock’.

While the title sounds like a giveaway, the rock side of things doesn’t come in too heavy, and when it does it’s still pretty swampy.

The overall vibe of ‘Black Rock’ is funky and it’s very interesting how a band with such a ‘trademark’ sound manages to escape that sound here.

Things chug along, with solid guitar from Mabon, group vocals and a cool, understated horn section. There’s even a crazy sound effect (heavily treated guitar?) that sounds like someone scratching vinyl!

I’m still on the lookout for a copy of the album, since the one I found a while back was crazy warped in the chip-and-dip style.

I hope you dig the track, and I’ll 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 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 (8)

By Larry, October 16, 2011 12:42 pm

Lavell Kamma today. Still making music!

Listen/Download -Lavell Kamma and his Afro Soul Revue – Soft Soul

Greetings all.

Hows about we get the new week started with some sublimely delicious funk of the 45RPM variety?

I knew you’d dig that.

I picked up today’s selection while back from a friend’s sale list, mainly because I’d heard of it (but not heard it) and because the price was reasonable.

Naturally, there are those of you who might question the purchase of a record that one has not actually heard yet, but I would respectfully counter with the proposition that any self respecting digger that would pass up any recording by a group calling themselves Lavell Kamma and his Afro Soul Review, should be forced to surrender their turntables and walk away in shame.

This is not to say that every single record with a cool name is going to be good and funky, but rather that the unwritten laws of such things suggest that the law of averages would be on your side in such a transaction.

And in this case, they were (big time).

There’s isn’t a whole lot of info out there on Mr Kamma, other than the fact that he seems to have hailed from the Sunshine State (FLA) and that he recorded 45s for at least three labels, Tupelo Sound (this one), Sure Shot and Jewel, between the mid-60s and the early 70s.

‘Soft Soul’, despite a title that might lead you to think you were about to travel down the boulevard of ballads, is one of the finest example of tasty, mid-tempo funk I have ever heard.

First off, those freaking drums….whoever was massaging the traps had a light and talented hand indeed, and the rest of the band were right, tight and out of sight as well. Lavell’s vocals are high and slightly raspy (in a groovy way), and whoever’s playing the guitar gets a gold star at the top of his report card as well.

The flip is quite nice as well (watch for it in an upcoming mix).

It’s also not a terribly expensive 45. There are at least three label variations/pressings I’ve seen.

Lavell Kamma is still playing today. You can check out his MySpace page for a video of him doing his one man band thing.

I hope you dig the cut, and I’ll see you all on Wednesday.

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 (2)

By Larry, October 11, 2011 1:10 pm

The Chambers Brothers

Listen/Download – The Chambers Brothers – Funky

Greetings all.

You know, as we here at the Funky16Corners blog approach our seventh anniversary (oh yeah), which in blog years is like an eon or some such, every once in a while I have to lean on my Google crutch to make sure I haven’t already expounded on a particular track, so lengthy is the list thereof.

Such was the case when I started contemplating today’s selection, in which the thought process went something like this:

Did I already write up ‘Funky’?

I must have.

No, wait, I didn’t.

Are you (me) sure?

Let me check again.

Nope.

Well how about them apples?

You see, when you talk about the first time the funk hit me (deep) one must consider the day the teenaged me brought the Chambers Brothers ‘New Generation’ album home from the dusty, local flea market and dropped the needle, and got whomped upside the melon by ‘Funky’, which is as solid a ‘truth in advertising’ thing as has ever been committed to wax.

I mean, those opening bars, with the congas, the traps, the cuica and then the oddly Mexicali guitar riff and of course that earth shaking bass (really the linchpin on which the whole enterprise hangs) are as earth shattering and elemental as any funky music, ever recorded, anywhere (at least here on earth).

The mighty Chambers Brothers have always taken a back seat to brother Sly  – which in terms of general funk is an accurate assessment –  since they always trod a little bit more on the rock side of the tracks, but aside from the deadly and unfuckwithable guitar/bass/drums combo of ‘Sing a Simple Song’, even the Family Stone had to step back and take notice when the Chambers Brothers lit up ‘Funky’ and took a deep drag.

Not only is ‘Funky’ great funk is the general, bad ass, ‘classic’ sense, but it also carries with it some of the Chambers unique hippie festival stomp, in that it sounds less like a ‘band’ than it does like a field full of party where everyone got themselves something to bang on, and in a once in a millennium roll of the dice, managed to all come down on the one.

‘Funky’, in addition to the basic, obvious funk power, also manages to be a veritable seven layer dip of complexity, with the cowbell, and especially that weird, bottleneck-y guitar twang that keeps bubbling up into the mix.

Had the Chambers Brothers managed to whip together a half dozen such monsters (excepting of course the sui generis ‘Time Has Come Today’ which is verily the warp and weft of the psychedelic zeitgeist) – or, if ‘Funky’ was a hens teeth rare 45 – they might be more fondly remembered by the crate diggers. As it is, you could probably get your own copy (at least of the album) for less than a dollar at any respectable flea market which in some circles is grounds for disqualification.

There is also the fact that A Tribe Called Quest thought enough of the song to repurpose a serious chunk of it for ‘I Left My Wallet In El Segundo’, which of course rules.

I hope you dig it and I’ll see you all later.

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 (4)

By Larry, October 2, 2011 1:58 pm

An early incarnation of the mighty JBs

Listen/Download – The JBs – Damn Right I Am Somebody Pt1
Listen/Download – The JBs – Damn Right I Am Somebody Pt2

Greetings all.

Having just returned from a little end-of-summer/beginning-of-fall sojourn to our nation’s capital, I am exhaust-o-mified.

I remember back in the day where I wouldn’t think twice about packing 10 hours travel time into a long weekend. What better time to jam on some mix tapes and chill behind the wheel?

In two decades I’ve gone from that to becoming a mirror image of my (and anyone else’s) father, fielding inquiries from the back seat, struggling to keep my eyes on the road, my hands on the wheel and my brain in one piece. It’s a whole different proposition when you assume leadership of the family caravan.

That said, a good time was had by all, with the sightseeing, and the museums and the wealth of groovy ethnic cuisine available in and around DC.

The tune I bring you today is a prime bit of mid-period (1974) J.B.s.

I don’t know about you guys, but I have a tendency to pick up J.B.s 45s wherever I find them, which explains why I have doubles of several of them.

I mean, why on earth, when given the opportunity to take home a solid serving of funky grooves by one of the tightest bands that ever was, would you refrain from doing so?

This is not to say that I prefer the work of the J.B.s minus the vocalizations of the mighty man for whom they were named, but rather that sometimes an instrumental will hit the spot where a vocal might just get in the way (aside from the fact that Mr Brown is all over these records anyhoo).

Today’s selection, ‘Damn Right I Am Somebody Pts 1&2’ was the title track on the album of the same name, billed as Fred Wesley and the J.B.s, since every once in a while you have to give props to the man burning up the trombone.

Not only is ‘Damn Right…’ one of the tightest grooves ever laid down by this storied ensemble, but it carries in it just a taste of jazz, as well as one of the finest horn charts to grace a JBs record, as well as a tasty percussion breakdown in part 2.

We’ve discussed the clockwork wonders of the James Brown style in this space before, but it bears mentioning yet again. Take yourself a minute and slap on the headphones and listen to the way the warp and weft of the JBs intersect without ever colliding. The lead guitar shoots around the bass, which itself winds around the horns and the rhythm guitar and the drums, providing a deceptively simple base for the soloists (mainly Fred and Maceo) to do their thing.

It is indeed a wonder to behold.

God bless the JBs and all who sailed with them.

See you on Wednesday.

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, September 27, 2011 10:10 am

The Originator: Babatunde Olatunji

Carlos Santana, wailing at Woodstock

Candido Camero on the congas…

Listen/Download – Michael Olatunji – Gin-Go-Lo-Ba

Listen/Download – Santana – Jin-Go-Lo-Bah (Jingo)

Listen/Download – Candido – Jingo

Greetings all.

I have something very special indeed for your ears this fine day.

Early last year I ran a series of posts under the ‘Disco/Not Disco’ banner celebrating the sounds played by pioneering DJ David Mancuso at his legendary Loft parties in NYC in the early 70s.

Mancuso had become something of an idol/guiding force for me, in so far as I have tried to emulate his DJing ethos as it were during my own sets.

He was a trailblazing record wrangler because he always kept one specific thing in mind, that being the dance and played anything that kept things moving. His Loft sets were filled with unusual sounds, including in his sets music from the worlds of rock, soul, funk, world music and anywhere else he could find the groove.

The Loft predated and strongly influenced the ‘disco’ scene and Mancuso’s eclecticism was carried out into the clubs by the other DJs that attended and had their minds blown at his parties.

One of the records that was a cornerstone of his sets, and has on its own a very interesting history, was a cut by the name of ‘Gin-Go-Lo-Ba’ by Michael ‘Babatunde’ Olatunji.

Olatunji was a Nigerian drummer and educator who emigrated to the United States as a student to attend Morehouse College.

He eventually moved to New York City to attend NYU where he put together his own percussion group and drew the attention of two especially influential figures, the mighty John Coltrane and record impresario John Hammond.

Olatunji recorded the LP ‘Drums of Passion’ in 1960, which included the track ‘Gin-Go-Lo-Bah’*, as well as the less influential (but also important) ‘Akiwawa’.

I first heard of Olatunji back in 1990 when I read Mickey Hart’s remarkable book ‘Drumming at the Edge of Magic: A Journey into the Spirit of Percussion’** which led me to Olatunji’s 1988 recording ‘Drums of Passion: The Invocation’. It was many years later when I first read about David Mancuso that I made the Loft connection.

Mancuso would make the Olatunji version of the song a cornerstone of his Loft sets for obvious reasons. It has a driving rhythmic force and the accompanying chanting that would no doubt grab and shake any mass of dancers, and would also mix well with any number of more ‘conventional’ dance records.

It was at the end of the 1960s that Carlos Santana and his band would adapt and record the tune under the title ‘Jingo’ (which is the version that most people have heard). I’m including that version (the 45 edit at least) here for reference, and because it kicks all kinds of ass. Interestingly, the Santana 45 uses an approximation of the Olatunji title, though the album (and subsequent 45 releases) truncates it to ‘Jingo’. It’s amazing to listen to how a pack of electrified (in all senses), racially integrated hippies get deep inside the rhythm and blow it up.

A full decade after the Santana recording, the song would be resurrected yet again by another fixture of Mancuso’s Loft sets, Cuban conguero Candido (born Candido Camero), also under the title ‘Jingo’.

Candido’s version of the song takes the African percussion and chant of the original and recasts it inside an electric/disco setting and despite the fact that the edges may have been smoothed a little, the cut loses none of its propulsive power. Even after almost two decades, the song was still dance floor gold.

The mix here is the 45 edit, which clocks in at only 3:17. I wish I had a copy of the 12”, which goes for almost six more minutes.

‘Jingo’ was later redone for the dancefloors yet again in 1987 by Jellybean.

Babatunde Olatunji passed away in 2003 after a lifetime of teaching, social activism, and above all, drumming.

I hope you dig the tune (and maybe dance a little) , and the drums and I’ll be back on Friday.

Peace

Larry

*Oddly, the catalog number of the Olatunji 45 suggests that it was released sometime in 1967, long after the LP released but before the Santana cover

** If you have any interest at all in the power of drums and rhythm and the way they can propel human consciousness through the dance ritual I recommend Hart’s book highly.

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, September 13, 2011 11:16 am

The mighty Swamp Dogg astride Sparky the Funky Rat

Listen/Download – Swamp Dogg – Sal-A-Faster

Greetings all.

How’s by you?

I’m still not reconciled to the loss of summer, and while we still have a little taste of it to savor here at the shore, it has been an especially brisk week. It’s like Labor Day happened and someone threw a switch somewhere, sucking all the “hot” out of the air.

I don’t know about you guys, but I’m not done sweating yet, so how about something hot and sassy for the middle of the week?

Swamp Dogg is one of those cats who’s name I’ve known forever, but who’s music had evaded me almost completely.

The first time I heard one of his songs it was via a cover version of ‘Total Destruction To Your Mind’ by Eric Ambel of the Del-Lords, which got some airplay on our local alternative station about 20 years ago.

Dogg, who hailed from southern Virginia, recorded for years under his given name, Jerry Williams (and as Little Jerry Williams) for a wide variety of labels through the 60s, including Calla, Loma and Musicor before mutating into Swamp Dogg at the end of the decade.

As Swamp Dogg he recorded for the Canyon label, and wrote songs with another Virginia Tidewater native, Gary US Bonds, for artists like Doris Duke (and Swamp Dogg himself).

Today’s selection, the wild and somewhat incomprehensible ‘Sal-A-Faster’ has a serious New Orleans vibe (with no real connection to the region other than any of the Crescent City zeitgeist that might have taken root in Swamp Dogg’s fevered brain).

The magical substance of the title is recommended for the self, the disobedient wife and the dog that has fits, and the rabbit “that only sits”. Whether ‘sal-a-faster’ is a relation to the contents of a trick bag, or just something that Swamp Dogg pull out of, um, thin air, remains a mystery.

What is not mysterious is the groove of the record, which is, without question, heavy.

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

______________________________________________________________________________

Don’t forget that I’ll be spinning some tunes during the annual Point Pleasant Lions Seafood 5K and 1 Mile FUN Run/Walk on Saturday, September 17th in Pt Pleasant Beach, NJ. The run benefits the JT Foundation for Autism Awareness and runs right before the Seafood Fest (which starts at 10AM). I’ll be spinning all of the funk soul and disco you’d expect, so if you’re in the area, come on down and run, sit and watch people run while listening to music, or get your groove on before hunting down some delicious seafood. It’s a great cause and there’ll be good music, good people and good food, so what else do you need to know?

____________________________________________________________________________________

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

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, September 7, 2011 4:00 pm

The Mighty Wardell Quezergue

Listen/Download – Earl King – Trick Bag (Imperial)

Listen/Download – Professor Longhair – Big Chief Pt2 (Watch)

Listen/Download – Marie Boubarere – I’m Going Home (NOLA)

Listen/Download – Robert Parker – Everybody’s Hip Huggin'(NOLA)

Listen/Download – Willie Tee – Walking Up a One Way Street (Atlantic)

Listen/Download – Willie Harper – A Certain Girl (Tou-Sea)

Greetings all.

I hope that everyone is in a groovy place nearing the end of the week.

It behooves me to remind you all (as it always does) that the Funky16Corners Radio Show will be hitting the airwaves of the interwebs this Friday evening at 9PM at Viva Radio. This week we have an interesting one, with half the show devoted to the funky side of disco, and the other half to the sounds of classic-era soul. I know you’ll dig it, and if you can’t bet there to hear it, you can always drop by on Saturday to pick up the show in MP3 form here at the blog.

Also, if you have yet to check out the DJ Forty Fivan mix from earlier this week, please do so. It is excellent and really worth your time.

It was with great sadness that I heard the news this week of the passing of one of the last giants of New Orleans soul, Mr. Wardell Quezergue.

Working mostly as an arranger (but also in the producers and composers chairs) Wardell was instrumental (pun fully intended) in grafting the New Orleans sound onto the brains of the listening public. It has been said that he created every record he touched from the ground up, applying his talents to best fit the song, and the individual artist, giving his catalog a tremendous amount of stylistic breadth.

Known as the ‘Creole Beethoven’, WQ (his last name was often misspelled – at times by yours truly –  as Quezerque) was born in 1930. He served as a musician in military bands during the Korean War, and rejoined Dave Bartholomew’s band upon his return to the Crescent City.

He really started to make his mark in the early 60s, with his work on classic 45s by Earl King (‘Trick Bag’ is included above) and the formation of the storied NOLA label where he would arrange some of the finest R&B, soul and funk to come out of the city in the 1960s.

His first big hit was Robert Parker’s ‘Barefootin’ in 1965 (he arranged all of Parker’s sides for the label), still one of the biggest hits to come out of New Orleans.

His biggest success however would come half a decade later with his work for the Chimneyville/Malaco labels and huge hits like King Floyd’s ‘Groove Me’ and Jean Knight’s ‘Mr Big Stuff’ – both recorded on the same day in 1970 – and Dorothy Moore’s ‘Misty Blue’ in 1976.

The tunes included here are a random sampling of Wardell Quezergue’s work that I’ve covered here at Funky16Corners over the years, whether as individual tracks, or in various and sundry mixes. I’ve tried not to duplicate what I’ve seen in other tributes (make sure to check out Soul Sides).

I mentioned Earl King’s ‘Trick Bag’, but I’ve also included Part Two of Professor Longhair’s 1964 landmark ‘Big Chief’, which was written by King and features his vocal.

There are also two tracks from WQ’s extensive NOLA discography, including Marie Boubarere’s Eddie Bo-penned ‘I’m Going Home’ (a live session) from 1967, and Robert Parker’s funky ‘Everybody’s Hip Huggin’ from 1968.

One of the more interesting, and testimony to WQ’s considerable talent as an arranger (dig the way the trumpets and the saxes play off of each other in the horn chart), is Willie Tee’s ‘Walking Up a One Way Street’.

The last track is one that appeared here last summer, and remains one of my favorite Quezergue-related sides, especially since he produced and arranged it. The record in question is Willie Harper’s version of Ernie K Doe’s (written by Allen Toussaint) ‘A Certain Girl’.

Unlike most covers of the tune, Harper and Quezergue take the song at a slow, New Orleans roll, in one of the great examples of bridging the old-school NOLA feel and then contemporary (1968) soul music. It’s also interesting because it has WQ producing an artist who had worked almost exclusively with Toussaint, on one of Toussaint’s labels, as he also did with Warren Lee’s ‘Underdog Backstreet’, also on Tou-Sea.

I’ve never gotten the whole story on why Toussaint seemed to loosen the reins a bit during this period, but the records that came out of it (including another WQ production/arrangement with Gus ‘The Groove’ Lewis’s ‘Let the Groove Move You’) were consistently excellent.

Unfortunately Wardell Quezergue was stricken in his later years by poor physical health, as well as the being victimized by the  destruction of forces natural (Hurricane Katrina) and otherwise (the record industry).

He will always be remembered by fans of the New Orleans sound as one of its greatest geniuses.

He will be missed.

______________________________________________________________________________

Don’t forget that I’ll be spinning some tunes during the annual Point Pleasant Lions Seafood 5K and 1 Mile FUN Run/Walk on Saturday, September 17th in Pt Pleasant Beach, NJ. The run benefits the JT Foundation for Autism Awareness and runs right before the Seafood Fest (which starts at 10AM). I’ll be spinning all of the funk soul and disco you’d expect, so if you’re in the area, come on down and run, sit and watch people run while listening to music, or get your groove on before hunting down some delicious seafood. It’s a great cause and there’ll be good music, good people and good food, so what else do you need to know?

____________________________________________________________________________________

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.

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By Larry, September 4, 2011 12:00 pm

Set List

Motherhood – Soul Town
Scorpio & His People – The Unforgiven
Bobby Reed – The Time is Right For Love
Eddie & Ernie – Bullets Don’t Have Eyes
TSU Toronadoes – Got To Get Through To You
Four Sonics – Easier Said Than Done
Tony Clarke – Ghetto Man
Total Experience – Contradiction
Honey B’s – What Love Can Do
Black Velvet – An Earthquake’s Coming
Honey Ltd – Silk n Honey
Mighty Lovers – Ain’t Gonna Run No More
Rosetta Hightower – A Little More Line
Rose Williams – Whatever makes My baby Feel Good
Curtis the Brothers – You Make Everything Better
Eddie Bo – Getting to the Middle
Explosions – Garden of Four Trees
Fellows – Let’s Make it Last
Summits – Sleepwalking
Fabulous Souls – Take Me
Waymond Hall – What Will Tomorrow Bring
The Arcades – There’s Got to Be a Loser
Connie Tanzell – Don’t Knock Me
Stone Coal White – Free

Listen/Download – DJ Forty Fivan – Forty Fivan Vol4 131MB/320K Mixed MP3

Greetings all.

Happy Labor Day to those of you here in the US, where we honor the work of the American worker and the labor movement (though lately it’s looking more like a wake).

This also marks the end of the summer vacation season, which here at the shore is something of a mixed blessing, since my wife and kids have to return to school, but we also get to experience the phenomenon of ‘local summer’ during which we experience the fair weather and outdoor recreation largely free of the tourist horde.

Late last week one of my longtime fellow Soulstrut-ters, DJ Forty Fivan contacted me about the possibility of running his latest mix, the extremely groovy and very heavy ‘FortyFivan Vol 4’ as part of the Funky16Corners Soul Club guest mix series.

I’d already had a preview of the mix and thought this a capital idea, so here you have it.

What you get is a stellar mix with just under and hour of rare and ultra-rare funk and soul goodness.

Believe me when I tell you that this one exudes heat in a big way, and I know you’ll dig it.

Here’s Forty Fivan’s bio.

Forty Fivan, formerly known as DJ Ferrari, is one of the San Francisco Bay Area’s premier rare groove DJs and vinyl collectors creatively spinning the best and rarest funk and soul records from around the world. Highly regarded for his deep and diverse record collection, Forty Fivan has played shows all around the world including exotic locations like Barcelona and Rio de Janeiro. Never one to compromise in taste, Forty Fivan remains a trusted selector amongst those with a discerning ear for proper soul music.

When not scouring the globe for obscure vinyl, Forty Fivan, real name Ivan Dwyer, remains beyond busy in the fast paced Silicon Valley technology world as both the Head of Digital Publishing for ACCESS (www.access-company.com), a global provider of advanced software solutions for connected devices, and the CEO & Founder of Maravil (www.maravil.com), a creative technology and services provider working with independent musicians and record labels to create personalized mobile apps for the iPhone and iPad.

So go on, pull down the ones and zeros and dig the sounds.

I’ll be back on Thursday with something cool.

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.

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By Larry, August 25, 2011 8:06 am

Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson

Listen/Download – Marlena Shaw – California Soul

Listen/Download – Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell – California Soul

Listen/Download – Undisputed Truth – California Soul

Listen/Download – Tamba 4 – California Soul

Listen/Download – Steve Allen and Oliver Nelson – California Soul

Greetings all.

Before we get started I’d like to remind you all that the Funky16Corners Radio Show returns to the air this Friday night at 9PM at Viva Radio. You can also pick up the MP3 download of the show here at the blog (click on the Radio Show tab in the header) the day after the show airs.

This has been another one of those exceedingly sad weeks when musical giants seem to be falling whenever you turn around.

This particular week has been an especially bad one when you take into account the loss of not one but two exceptional songwriters, first Jerry Leiber, and then the mighty Nick Ashford.

Though he’s known to a generation or two as part of the singing duo of Ashford and Simpson (with his wife and writing partner Valerie Simpson), soul and R&B fans know him first and foremost as part of the team that wrote a long list of certifiable soul music classics.

During the mid-to-late 60s, Ashford and Simpson (sometimes with the help of Jo Armstead) composed a series of hits for artists like Ray Charles (Let’s Go Get Stoned and I Don’t Need No Doctor), Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell (Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing, You’re All I Need To Get By), Diana Ross (Reach Out and Touch (Somebody’s Hand), and Chaka Khan (I’m Every Woman), before hitting as a performing duo, from ‘Don’t Cost You Nothin’ in 1977 to their biggest hit ‘Solid’ in 1984.

Both Ashford and Simpson had recorded as solos in the 60s, including Ashford’s original versions of ‘Let’s Go Get Stoned’ and the song we remember today ‘California Soul’.

The first time I remember hearing (and falling in love with) ‘California Soul’ was in 1969, when my Mom was playing the hit version by the 5th Dimension (also the first place I ever heard a Laura Nyro song).

Many years later, when I was digging for funk and soul and became enamored of the work of the genius Richard Evans, it was the version by Marlena Shaw that I sought, after hearing is chopped by DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist.

The song has become my favorite Ashford and Simpson composition for a number of reasons, but mainly the chord changes and the lyrics.

It harkens back to a time when California held a special place in the American imagination as a spot on the western horizon filled with the promise of a new, sunshine-filled life and prosperity (though it would be very interesting to juxtapose any vocal version of this with Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil’s less optimistic ‘Black California’).

Like Jerry Leiber, Nickolas Ashford was the main lyricist in the songwriting duo, and ‘California Soul’ is a fantastic example of his prowess in the regard, especially the following stanza:

They say the sun comes up every morning
And if you listen oh so carefully
The winds that ride on the high time
Whistle in melody
And so the people started to sing
And that’s how the surf gave birth untold
To California soul, California soul

Collecting versions of ‘California Soul’ became something of a hobby, and over the years I’ve found several, many of which I bring you today.

First and foremost is the Marlena Shaw take. I’ve spun this out at funk and soul night’s many times, and while the appeal may start with that stellar break (Morris Jennings Jr) it only grows when Miss Shaw starts singing. Hers is by far the most powerful version of the song I’ve heard, from her own voice to the brilliant arrangement by Charles Stepney and production by Evans. It simply kills from start to finish.

Next up we have a couple of takes from the Motown stable.

Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell’s version, while not as dynamic as Shaw’s features their fantastic vocal blend, so it is definitely worth hearing.

The Undisputed Truth’s version of the song, produced by none other than Norman Whitfield is a tiny bit funkier, and most definitely more atmospheric. I really dig the bass, as well as the background vocals. This is the moodiest of the versions I’ve heard.

The most unusual take on the tune is the rare promo-only version by Brazil’s Tamba 4. Recorded in 1969 for an LP that was never issued, Tamba 4 take the tune at a brisk pace and feature the electric piano.

The last version of ‘California Soul’ that I’ll bring you today is my most recent find, from a 1969 album by Steve Allen and Oliver Nelson. While Allen’s contributions to the sessions seem to be limited to his celebrity and some keyboard noodling, the arrangement by Nelson is (as always) top notch.

It’s a fantastic song no matter how you look at it (or hear it) and it is really worth hearing it interpreted several ways.

I hope you dig it, and raise a glass in memory of Nick Ashford.

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.

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By Larry, August 18, 2011 1:15 pm

Shades of Joy from the cover of their 1969 album

Listen/Download – Shades of Joy – Flute In a Quarry (45 Edit)

Greetings all.

We’ve all packed away another week on the calendar, and I for one feel that it was well spent.

This has been a fairly (heh…fairly…) busy summer hereabouts, but a lot of the busy has been the good and productive kind, so I can’t really complain.

Since it is the end of the week, I should remind you that the Funky16Corners Radio Show will be back this Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio, with the funk, the soul, the jazz and the rare groove for your ears, your head and your heart, and if you can’t be huddled by the wireless set at airtime you can always pull down the ones and zeros of its convenient MP3 form over the weekend.

The tune I bring you today is something a little different with an interesting back story.

I don’t recall where I first heard of the Shades of Joy, but I do recall that it had something to do with Alejandro Jodorowsky’s epic cult film, ‘El Topo’.

While I have never seen ‘El Topo’ in the proper way (i.e. with a box of popcorn and my undivided attention) I did get to watch it play in a loop (and DJ in front of it) during a particularly memorable Asbury Park 45 Sessions.

It’s a crazy flick, and ironically, I did not actually hear any of it that night.

I say ironically since the 45 I bring you today is in fact a sampling (a 45 edit bringing you just under three minutes of a seven minute plus album track*) of that very soundtrack.

The group Shades of Joy was a SanFran Bay Area fixture in the late 60s and early 70s. Their leader, saxophonist Martin Fierro arranged the music that Jodorowsky composed for ‘El Topo’ and the Shades of Joy (augmented by other Bay heads like Frank Morin of the Sir Douglas Quintet** and keyboardist Howard Wales***) played.

The Shades of Joy had recorded a full LP for the Fontana label in 1969 (‘El Topo’ came out in 1970) but it appears that they recorded the soundtrack without their singer Millie Foster.

‘Flute In A Quarry’ is a very cool, somewhat progressive slice of funky, Latin-influenced jazz rock (dig the percussion). Considering the Bay Area roots, the temptation is to make a Santana reference, but the sound here is funkier and jazzier (and less Latin) than Carlos et al. In fact, Fierro’s tenor sax work is very edgy and light years beyond what you might expect from similarly shaped horn bands of the era.

The LP was produced by Jimi Hendrix producer Alan Douglas, and someone going by the name of Doris Dynamite (sounds like an R. Crumb creation).

It’s a cool tune, and I hope you dig it.

Have a great weekend, and I’ll see you all on Monday.

Peace

Larry

*The full length version from the ‘El Topo’ soundtrack included longer “mellow” sections and an extended guitar solo
**I’ve seen references that indicate that Fierro also played with the SDQ
***Wales was the man behind A.B. Skhyy and the in demand 45 ‘Huxley’s Howl’

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 (2)

By Larry, August 4, 2011 2:02 pm

Listen/Download – Willis Wooten – Your Love Is Indescribably Delicious

Greetings all.

The end of the week is finally here and so is a little bit of that fabled light at the end of the tunnel.

I feel like I’ve been running a marathon this past month (I’d get tired driving one…) and the time for a little rest and relaxation is at hand, or at least a return to normalcy.

I should remind you that this Friday night sees the return of the Funky16Corners Radio Show to the airwaves, at 9PM on Viva Radio. This week’s show is (thanks to the insane schedule of the last few weeks) an encore performance of a show from last year, so if you didn’t hit it the first time around, dig it, and if you did, check it out again.

No matter how long I dig, or how late I keep my ears open for business, there is always something new and amazing waiting out there for me.

Earlier this year, during the Funky16Corners Pledge Drive, my man Vincent the Soul Chef contributed a mix which introduced me to today’s selection, and for that I will be forever grateful.

Willis Wooten is one of those cats who’s name I knew but who’s music managed to elude me for quite some time.

I have quite a lot of Virtue 45s in my Philly crates, but the one I bring you today was not one of them, and when I heard the song ‘Your Love is Indescribably Delicious’ for the first time in Vincent’s mix, my mind was good and truly blown.

I dig funky music (you already knew that, right?) but every once in a great while a funk 45 rolls along that absolutely swings in that get your ass up out of your seat and move it kinda way, and ‘Your Love Is Indescribably Delicious’ carries that vibe like a spike driver with a sledge hammer.

The phrase ‘hard-hitting’ doesn’t really do a record like this justice, since it’s not about power as much as it is about swagger, and swing, and feeling and that certain soulful je ne sais quoi that makes you want to leap onto the dance floor for the Soul Train Line of the mind.

The drums do indeed attack solidly, but check out that rhythm guitar and the vocals (I’ll go ahead and assume that it’s Mr. Wooten) and the horns with that little touch of Memphis and resist the temptation to rise up and, how do they say, boogie.

I have not been able to track down any information on Willis Wooten himself, though the info on the label indicated that many of the usual Philadelphia suspects were involved including Ronnie Baker (who wrote the song), Norman Harris and Johnny Stiles.

It is without question an ass-kicker of the first order, and just the thing to get a hot summer weekend underway.

I hope you dig it, and I’ll be back 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.