Comments (2)

By Larry, September 18, 2011 1:56 pm

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Sweetwater

Listen/Download – Sweetwater – Compared to What

Greetings all.

The new week is here, and so am I (for what it’s worth).

There quite a chill in the air, and taking the little Corners out to the bus is getting to be a brisk undertaking.

I need to adjust my brain so that I begin to appreciate the onset of fall, which is a season that I usually dig quite a bit, but I’m having an especially hard time letting go of summer this year.

Not sure why that is, but as is often the case, if I feed my ears enough groovy music, all paths will be clearer, roads smoothed, thoughts more productive and positive.

That said I had a great time this past Saturday DJ-ing at the JT Foundation for Autism Awareness 5K Run in Pt. Pleasant Beach, NJ.

This was by far the earliest (first record went under the needle at 7:30am) and chilliest (temps hovering in the mid-50s) DJ gig I’ve ever done, but the high spirits of all the people gathered to raise money and awareness of autism more than made up for the hour.

There were lots of familiar faces from the local autism community, and the setting (right by the water) couldn’t have been nicer.

I even got the now familiar “You actually spin vinyl?” comments which seem to pop up every single time I DJ outside of a club setting. It’s a little strange to hear, but it is a bracing reminder of how deep and insular the world of record collecting is. Each time this happens, without fail, there’s a brief moment of “Who’s crazy? Me or them?” followed immediately by the realization that it is  – without question –  me.

The whole Funky16Corners fam was there as yours truly dropped a wide variety of funk, soul and disco classics for about three hours.

Yours truly (not all sixteen corners visible) selecting something cool.

The crowd as seen from my perch in the band shell.

Cueing up a little Stevie Wonder to take the chill out of the air.

So, let’s get the week started with what Slim Gaillard would refer to as a very mellow groove.

If you have in fact heard of Sweetwater, it might very well be as one of the little known artists to have graced the stage at Woodstock.

They released a couple of albums for Reprise in the late 60s and early 70s before their lead singer Nancy Nevins was badly injured in a car accident and forced out of the lineup.

I’m tempted to describe Sweetwater as an archetypal hippy band, but the reality was that in everything except the broadest sense the only thing most of the bands of the era had in common (aside from an interesting fashion sense) was their diversity in all things.

Sweetwater was integrated, both racially and musically, with a sound that exemplified the melting pot aesthetic, a little rock, a little soul, some baroque touches all served up with a garnish of freak scene freedom.

Naturally, across the musical spectrum, this tie-dyed bouillabaisse wasn’t always entirely successful or coherent, but that is almost always the case when a lot of free thinkers decide to get loose, and thankfully when their fusions were successful, they were often exceptional.

Gene McDaniel’s epic testament ‘Compared to What’ is one of those soul jazz evergreens (like Cannonball Adderley’s ‘Sack’O’Woe’) that managed to expand beyond its original bailiwick into the world of rock.

Sweetwater manage to keep the built-in groove of the song, but ease off the gas a little, creating a very groovy, somewhat restrained, yet still soulful feel. The basic groove is constructed with bass, drums and electric piano, with the flute and cello (yes, cello) weaving in and out of things tastefully.

This is also one of those records where I’m shocked no one has chopped or looped either the bass or flute lines, both ripe for the audio harvest.

I hope you dig it.

Make sure you stop over at Iron Leg and pull down the ones and zeros on the fifth episode of the Iron Leg Radio Show.

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 (1)

By Larry, September 11, 2011 10:46 am

Listen/Download – Natural Gas – Live and Learn

Listen/Download – Natural Gas – Rameses 1

Greetings all.

I hope everyone had themselves a groovy weekend and took the time to check out the Wardell Quezergue-related sounds. I also hope you took the time to paddle out into the wilds of the intertubes in search of a little more of his story (and history). He was an important figure in the sound of New Orleans and deserves to be remembered (and the music he made, heard).

So, now that the new week is here, how about some of the funky, jazzy horn rock sound??

I picked up the sole LP by the Canadian band Natural Gas a few years back when it popped up on a sale list with an intriguing description (probably something along the lines of ‘funky horn rock’) and an equally intriguing price tag. I’d never heard of the band, but all signs pointed to “BUY”, so I did, and when it came through the mail slot onto the turntable I knew that I’d done a groovy thing.

Natural Gas (could they have selected a more un-Google-icious name?) hailed – as mentioned – from north of the border and put out their only album in 1970 on the Firebird label.

Though I can’t tell you much about the band itself (one of their tracks, a cover of ‘Eleanor Rigby’ already appeared here in F16C Radio v.74 ‘Day Tripping’), it has roots (via singer George Olliver) in the prime of Canadian 60s rock, first with the Rogues, and then in the much more successful soul-rock outfit Mandala.

Olliver left Mandala in 1969 to for Natural Gas.

If I were to describe the Natural Gas sound, I’d say a slightly more progressive take on the horn-rock vibe of the time (led of course by Blood Sweat and Tears, which was helmed by David Clayton Thomas who for a brief time had been in the Rogues with Olliver).

That the sound was verily omnipresent for a few years should be evident to anyone with a passing acquaintance with the era, with bands that were first and foremost a horn driven thang, with the BS&Ts, Chicagos, as well many soulful or jazz-inspired rock bands of the day (like Melting Pot) packing a horn section.

There is of course the question of fusion, but it’s probably more accurate (at least as I see it) to assign pre-existing jazzers attempting (with varying degrees of success) to rockify their sound with that term, where most of what I’m talking about could loosely be called jazz rock.

Much of what fell under the jazz rock sound is in retrospect often guilty of musical overreaching, with musicians who’s hearts might have been in the right place but who’s chops and or ears were not up to the task, making for cluttered, sometime clumsy attempts at jazz which were simultaneously overcooked versions of rock.

Naturally, it was the late 60s and early 70s and hordes of drugged out kids with their feet in the mud couldn’t have cared less as long as they could keep grooving, and now, forty years on, a lot of that stuff doesn’t hold up well as either jazz or rock.

That said, I find that despite their undeserved obscurity, Natural Gas were actually pretty good, with enough compositional and technical wherewithal to create music that was sonically interesting and – it bears mentioning – rarely overbearing.

The two tracks I bring you this fine day exhibit two sides of the band.

The first, ‘Live and Learn’ is a slightly funky excursion featuring Olliver’s vocals running in and out of a tight instrumental backing. The band is tight, and the horn charts are tasteful, with the two sections of the group actually working together cooperatively (not always the case with these things). Olliver was a good singer, generally free of the sloppy, white soulboy-isms of many of his contemporaries. I’ll have to dig out a Mandala 45 and post it so you can get a taste for his earlier work.

The second cut, the instrumental ‘Rameses 1’ starts out as a Hammond groover, evolving into a more expansive jazz tableau, featuring some cool guitar. There are whispers of UK prog around the edges, but the organ drops out and the piano comes in (around the 2:00 mark) before it really unfolds too much. The remaining six minutes is split between contemplative piano, swinging, small-group action, and then a gradual return of the horn section.

It is – especially for the time – a work of remarkable good taste and subtlety, the band never straying outside the boundaries of their instrumental (or compositional) prowess.

The album ought to be better known.

George Olliver still performs and records today.

______________________________________________________________________________

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 (4)

By Larry, August 16, 2011 3:09 pm

Ike tries to hitch a ride…

The Family Vibes speeds by trying to act like they didn’t notice…

Listen/Download – Ike Turner Presents the Family Vibes – the Scratch

Greetings all.

Before we get started I’d like to let you all know that if you dig the pop side of the 60s, with the garage, and the psyche, and the sunshine pop and what not you might want to fall by our sister blog, Iron Leg and check out the  Iron Leg Radio Show. It’s currently anchored at the blog (no interwebs radio station, but if someone knows one with an open slot, speak up) and is now up to four episodes.

The shows run around 90 minutes and I do them once a month. The format is very similar to the Funky16Corners Radio Show, but the content is slanted along the pop side of the spectrum.

If that sounds like something you’d dig, pop on over there and pull down the ones and zeros.

So, the middle of the week is here and I figured it was past time to dig into the archives and pluck out a little bit of Ike.

Turner, that is….

Ike has appeared in this space a couple of times over the years, sometimes with the mighty Tina, sometimes without.

A few years I was out a-digging and I happened upon a permutation of the Ike Turner discography that I’d never seen before, aka Ike Turner presents the Family Vibes.

Though there doesn’t appear to be a whole lot of info out there on this period, what I have found seems to indicate that the Family Vibes were in fact the Kings of Rhythm (1973 edition) with a new name and a new sound.

Though I think even the staunchest mathematician would have a hell of a time drawing, a line between ‘New Breed Pts 1&2’ and today’s selection (I think Archimedes locates the intersection of the two somewhere within the area of Ike), the song in question is without a doubt funky.

If you were a student of the funk and gave ‘The Scratch’ even a single listen, I think you’d probably be able to place it within a year or two of the correct spot on the timeline. It has within it the sound of an era where rock bands were getting funky, and funk bands were getting rock-y and the lines were getting blurred (not just by the drugs).

Even the cover art and its airbrushed pseudo-Keep On Truckin-isms are practically waving a calendar in your face.

I’m not sure why Ike was trying to rebrand the Kings (there were at least two albums under this name) though trying to glom onto the rep of another famous, funky family (the Stones of SanFran) doesn’t seem out of the question. That and Family Vibes sounds a lot more 1970s-ish with the Kings of Rhythm sounding like a bunch of cheap tuxedos on a cruise ship.

This was released around the time Ike and Tina were hitting the charts with ‘Nutbush City Limits’ and probably still squeezing a little juice out of their huge 1971 hit ‘Proud Mary’ so I can understand why UA would invest a couple of albums worth of time and money in the group (that and it was the early 70s when most record companies were releasing veritable mountains of product in a coke addled haze).

That said, ‘The Scratch’ derives its funk from a loose, wobble-legged guitar line and nice fat bass line plodding along underneath as well as some nice, era-specific synth action.

It is all very redolent of bell-bottoms, cheap wine and sounds like something that might come wafting out of the window of a customized van, rocking behind a convenience store on a Saturday night.

I hope you dig it 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 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 31, 2011 10:56 am

Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes

Listen/Download – Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes – Don’t Leave Me This Way (Extended Mix)

Greetings all.

This is going to be a very short entry, due to the fact that I have less than no time this week (this is being written/prepared several days in advance).

Thanks to a combination of planned (my folks 50th wedding anniversary and some DJ work) and unplanned (the whole family had to travel at the last minute to attend a funeral) I am operating at a serious time deficit.

I didn’t want to leave the blog hanging with the lights on and the door open, so I thought I’d put something interesting up that didn’t require a whole lot of explanation.

One of my cooler recent finds was a two record set released by Philadelphia International in 1977 as (I think) a promotional set for radio and club DJs. It features long mixes of some of the better known PI hits, but was especially interesting to me due to the inclusion of an especially long mix (unavailable elsewhere) of one of my personal favorites, Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes ‘Don’t Leave Me This Way’.

There are no specific credits on the album as to who did the remixing, but my assumption is that it was probably someone from the axis of Gamble/Huff, Ronnie Baker and Norman Harris, all of whom were involved in the production and arrangement of the original appearance of the song on the group’s 1975 ‘Wake Up Everybody’ LP. If anyone knows different, please let me know in the comments.

That said, it’s about five minutes more of the good stuff than you get on the album track, which in the case of this mightiest of Philly dance floor anthems is most excellent.

I hope you dig it, 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 (0)

By Larry, July 3, 2011 2:59 pm

Touch

Listen/Download – Touch – Love Hangover (Breaking Down)

Greetings all.

I hope all is groovy in whatever burgh you call home.

The first tune I’ll bring you this week is something very interesting that I happened upon during a recent, unscheduled dig.

A friend had dropped me a line that a local record store had gotten in an interesting collection, but regularly scheduled family stuff precluded a trip over there, so I figured I’d try to get over later in the week.

Then, the following day I had to do some Dad stuff, which just happened to end in the late morning, so I bundled up Thing 2 (the little guy) and took a drive North so that I might paw through the records in the hour before lunch.

Good thing too, because while the collection might not have been spectacular (the really heavy stuff was out of my price range or areas of interest) but I did score a grip of excellent jazz funk for about half the going rate, and a couple of cool looking things that were not familiar, but interesting (and cheap) enough that I figured I’d grab them.

The tune I bring you today was on one of them.

I’d never heard of the group Touch (no relation to ‘The Touch’), but since it was a mid-70s LP on Brunswick that I’d never heard of it definitely piqued my interest.

What really grabbed me though was the presence of a tune on the album entitled ‘Love Hangover (Breaking Down)’. I couldn’t remember who had written the Diana Ross tune, but it had a Jobete publishing credit so I figured it had to be related.

And (you probably figured this out already) it was.

The tune in question was in fact (as described in the title) the breakdown from Diana Ross’s ‘Love Hangover’, i.e. a reworking of the fast instrumental part at the end of her record.

Now, I love the Diana Ross record, but I have to admit that if the song were truncated to remove the first half, I wouldn’t miss it all that much.

That is exactly what Touch did, and their version (which you will hear as soon as you pull down the ones and zeros) is quite good, a little funkier and with a slightly rougher edge than the original.

While I haven’t been able to find out much about the band, the record was produced by disco movers and shakers Tony Valor and Tom Moulton, the first a prolific producer and the second one of the original remix masters.

A little research reveals that Valor had a habit of recycling material, with some of the backing tracks on this album also appearing on a ‘Do the Hustle’ LP, and the only other credits I can find for the members of Touch are on other Tony Valor productions. My best guess is that they were likely his main studio band and either got the chance to make their own album, or were just repackaged as a group out of convenience.

Either way, this track is especially cool, and there are a number of cool tracks on the album that would serve as a great example of a sort of higher level of disco, with thoughtful songwriting and quality playing.

I hope you dig the track, and I’ll be back 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, 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 (5)

By Larry, May 28, 2011 9:22 am

Gil Scott-Heron RIP

Listen/Download – Gil Scott-Heron – The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

Greetings all.

It was last night that rumors, and eventually confirmation of the passing of the mighty Gil Scott-Heron appeared.

In a word, Gil Scott-Heron was deep.

I first became aware of him when I was in high school and saw Scott-Heron and his band performing their funky strike against apartheid ‘Johannesburg’ on Saturday Night Live.

A few years later he was part of the M.U.S.E. No Nukes concerts at Madison Square Garden (unfortunately not on the night I attended) where he laid down ‘We Almost Lost Detroit’, which appeared in the film of the concerts.

Years later, when I was deeper in the funk and soul game, I was lucky enough to find a copy of his very first album, ‘Small Talk at 125th and Lenox’.

The Gil Scott Heron of 1970 was a much different artist than he would become. His early work was largely spoken word, more the sound of a revolutionary poet than the deeply soulful singer he would evolve into.

‘Small Talk at 125th and Lenox’, featured the track I bring you today, the original version of ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised’, a landmark spoken word piece that stands as a stark, verbal blow against the America of 1970, touching on race, politics, war, popular culture and a death of the spirit brought on by television.

It is powerful stuff, in large part because of Scott-Heron’s delivering the text with his deep, sonorous voice over a backing composed only of percussion.

Scott-Heron, who was born in Chicago but raised in Tennessee got his start as an author, writing two novels before the beginning of his recording career.

He met his frequent musical partner Brian Jackson while at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania.

After ‘Small Talk at 125th and Lenox’, Scott-Heron’s record became progressively more musical, though since he was always as much a writer as a musician, they never lost their poetic edge, and as such he became a hugely important influence on the world of rap.

His later years were plagued with drug troubles (and subsequently imprisonment) and failing health. He was able to record a final album ‘I’m New Here’ in 2010, and though the many shadows of his life were present in the periphery, the old, strong Gil Scott-Heron was still there.

He passed yesterday at the age of 62.

He will be missed, deeply.

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

You will not be able to stay home, brother.
You will not be able to plug in, turn on and cop out.
You will not be able to lose yourself on skag and ,
Skip out for beer during commercials,
Because the revolution will not be televised.

The revolution will not be televised.
The revolution will not be brought to you by Xerox
In 4 parts without commercial interruptions.
The revolution will not show you pictures of Nixon
blowing a bugle and leading a charge by John
Mitchell, General Abrams and Mendell Rivers to eat
hog maws confiscated from a Harlem sanctuary.
The revolution will not be televised.

The revolution will not be brought to you by the
Schaefer Award Theatre and will not star Natalie
Woods and Steve McQueen or Bullwinkle and Julia.
The revolution will not give your mouth sex appeal.
The revolution will not get rid of the nubs.
The revolution will not make you look five pounds
thinner, the revolution will not be televised, Brother.

There will be no pictures of you and Willie May
pushing that shopping cart down the block on the dead run,
or trying to slide that color television into a stolen ambulance.
NBC will not be able predict the winner at 8:32
or report from 29 districts.
The revolution will not be televised.

There will be no pictures of pigs shooting down
brothers on the instant replay.
There will be no pictures of pigs shooting down
brothers in the instant replay.
There will be no pictures of Whitney Young being
run out of Harlem on a rail with a brand new process.
There will be no slow motion or still lifes of Roy
Wilkins strolling through Watts in a Red, Black and
Green liberation jumpsuit that he had been saving
For just the right occasion.

Green Acres, The Beverly Hillbillies, and Hooterville
Junction will no longer be so goddamned relevant, and
women will not care if Dick finally screwed
Jane on Search for Tomorrow because Black people
will be in the street looking for a brighter day.
The revolution will not be televised.

There will be no highlights on the eleven o’clock
news and no pictures of hairy armed women
liberationists and Jackie Onassis blowing her nose.
The theme song will not be written by Jim Webb,
Or Francis Scott Key, nor sung by Glen Campbell, Tom
Jones, Johnny Cash, or Englebert Humperdink.
The revolution will not be televised.

The revolution will not be right back after a message
bbout a white tornado, white lightning, or white people.
You will not have to worry about a dove in your
bedroom, a tiger in your tank, or the giant in your toilet bowl.
The revolution will not go better with Coke.
The revolution will not fight the germs that may cause bad breath.
The revolution will put you in the driver’s seat.

The revolution will not be televised, will not be televised,
not be televised, will not be televised.
The revolution will be no re-run brothers;
The revolution will be live.

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 12, 2011 3:27 pm

Charles Mann

Listen/Download – Charles Mann – Do It Again

Greetings all, and welcome to the end of the week.

All is well – relatively speaking – with nothing overtly positive to report, but nothing horrifying either, so I’ll just remain tied to the mast and hope the boat stays on course.

This is of course the part of the week where I remind you that the Funky16Corners Radio Show is about due for its weekly eruption over at Viva Radio, with all of the groovy sounds you have – as a connoisseur of the finer things in soul – become accustomed to. Friday night at 9PM is the time, followed over the weekend by the appearance of the MP3 version thereof over at the blog, where you can pull down the ones and zeros at your leisure.

The number I bring you today is another very groovy cover version (making it a clean sweep this week) of one of my all time favorite groups, that being Steely Dan.

The song in question is their 1972 hit ‘Do It Again’, and the covering artiste is Charles Mann.

I first heard this take on the song via a forum post on the interwebs, and as a huge fan of the Dan, and of interesting cover versions in general, I set out to find a copy of my own.

I’d never heard of Charles Mann before, and I have to admit that despite some searching I still don’t know much.

He recorded his version of ‘Do It Again’ in 1973 for the ABC label with a collection of Philly all-stars, including Bobby Eli (under an alias), Norman Harris, Earl Young, Ronnie Baker and Vince Montana (pretty much the heart of the MFSB crew), with background vocal support from Bunny Sigler (among others).

Tracking down information on Mann proved difficult because there’s a prominent swamp pop singer of the same name (who happens to be white), and because it would appear that aside from this album for ABC and some disco 12”s for the LA label, the soulful Mr Mann didn’t leave much of a trail.

His cover of ‘Do It Again’ ramps up the tempo and fleshes out the arrangement considerably) with the Philly heads adding a healthy dose of danceability to the song. The intro is ripe for sampling/looping and Mann’s vocal is excellent.

The record has that great, Philly-based pre-disco funk vibe, and the guitar work (there are two great solos, one with fuzz and one without) is superb.

Mann recorded three 45s for ABC, and oddly enough ‘Do It Again’ doesn’t appear to have had a domestic release on 45 (though it did come out in Europe). It is possible that since Steely Dan was also on ABC, the label didn’t want to have competing versions on the singles charts.

It’s also unusual because there aren’t a lot of vocal covers of Steely Dan material out there, though I’ve found a number of instrumental versions of their material (by Woody Herman who did a whole album of it, and Herbie Mann). If you’re game to hear something unusual, check out the cover by Waylon Jennings.

I hope you dig the tune, 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 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 (6)

By Larry, May 1, 2011 5:35 pm

DJ Andujar and Funky16Corners @ Sweet Exorcist @ The Peoples Pint 4/22

Studebaker Hawk (above), D.J. Andujar (below)

Listen/Download – Studebaker Hawk @ Sweet Exorcist 4/22/11

Studebaker Hawk Set List
Dave Valentin – Sidra’s Dream (GRP)
Phantom Slasher – Furry Whiplash (Noid)
Pia Zadora – The Clapping Song (Elektra)
Marsha Hunt – (Oh, No! Not) The Beast Day (n/a)
Gypsy Lane – Show Me How To Groove (Drive)
The Love Machine – Sex-O-Sonic (London Records)

Listen/Download – Funky16Corners @ Sweet Exorcist Set 2 4/22/11

Funky16Corners @ Sweet Exorcist Set 2

Nanette Workman – Lady Marmalade (Pasha)
Lynda Lyndell – What a Man (Volt)
Rufus Thomas – Funky Penguin Pt1 (Stax)
Lou Courtney – Hey Joyce (Popside)
James Brown – Get On the Good Foot (Polydor)
Chuck Carbo – Can I Be Your Squeeze (Canyon)
Gene Chandler – In My Body’s House (Chess)
Marva Whitney – It’s My Thing (King)
Eddie Bo & Inez Cheatham – Lover and a Friend (Capitol)
Willie Tell and the Overtures – Kick Back (Chess)
King Curtis – Pop Corn Willy (Atco)

Listen/Download – DJ Andujar & Studebaker Hawk @ Sweet Exorcist 4/22/11

DJ Andujar @ Sweet Exorcist Set 1

James Brown…I Got Tha Feelin (45)
Dyke & the Blazers…Let a Woman… (45)
Ivo Meirelles & Funk N Lata…Baile Funky (make it funky) (LP)
Lou Toby & his Heavies…Heavy Steppin (45)
Lyn Collins…Think (45)
Toots & Maytalls…Funky Kingston (LP)

Studebaker Hawk Set List

Williams Brothers – I Feel Good (New Birth Records)
Kabbala – Ashewo Aro (Red Flame)
Panama – Long Train Runnin’ (Pathé Marconi EMI)
Dorothy Morrison – All God’s Children Got Soul (Elektra)

Listen/Download – DJ Andujar Set 2 @ Sweet Exorcist 4/22/11

Greyboy with Sharon Jones & Quantic…Got To Be A Love (Paul Nice rmx) (12″)
Gizelle Smith…June (LP)
Clarence Reid…Masterpiece (45)
Charles Wright & Watts 103rd…What Can You Bring Me (45)
Orchestra Baobab…Kelen Ati Leen (45)
Ripple…Funky Song (45)
Bob Marley…Could You Be Loved (12″)
Gwen McCrae…Rockin Chair (45)

Greetings all.

I hope the new week finds you well.

Things are finally starting to settle down here in the Funky16Corners Blogcasting Nerve Center and Record Vault after the busiest month of DJ activity I’ve seen in a long, long time.

We already covered my appearance at the Subway Soul Club, and today’s post will tell the tale of my journey to the great state of Massachusetts for a pair of very groovy nights.

I’d like to get started though by telling you how I spent my weekend, which dovetails nicely with everything else and kind of puts a cap on things.

As has been related in this space before, for a couple of vary important reasons (those being our sons) our family is involved with POAC (Parents of Autistic Children, you can follow the link at the bottom of this or any other recent post).
POAC organized a dodgeball tournament, and they asked me to come out and spin some records during the festivities, which is how I spent my Saturday (with Miles acting as my roadie).

I packed up the decks and mixer in my new road case (I think I’m going to stop referring to it as a coffin, which is slightly morbid nomenclature and has to be explained every single time I use it in conversation), packed up a case of funk and disco 45s, filled the record bag with albums and 12”s, and headed over to the local rec center.

Despite years of DJing, this is the first time I took the old Funky16Corners Sound System on the road, and it was a resounding success (even if I forgot to bring a surge protector and an extension cord, but the audio gods look out for the foolish and forgetful, and I was covered).

It was a gas (including a bunch of high school kids singing along with ‘Pass the Hatchet’ which I’m 100% certain they’d never heard before), and despite a couple of close calls, wherein the dodge balls inadvertently came in contact with the sound system (but never the turntables, thankfully), things went swimmingly.

The trip to Massachusetts was similarly excellent.

A few months back my man DJ Andujar got in touch as asked if I might be interested in coming up his way to do his (and Studebaker Hawk’s) night in Greenfield, MA (Sweet Exorcist), followed by a Saturday in Northampton, MA with Snack Attack and DJ Cashman (Wooly Bully).

I checked the calendar and discovered that the dates in question intersected with the Funky16Corners family spring break, so arrangements were made to wrap the two nights into our vacation.

We’d been up to Northampton last year (for vinyl and yarn digging) and found the area to our liking, so the wife and I were both psyched about a return trip.

The Monday before the gigs I phoned in to DJ Andujar’s Radio Clandestino Show on WMUA-FM, and did an interview, which he was kind enough to record, and which I’ll post here for your listening pleasure.

Download/Listen: DJ Andujar Interviews Larry Grogan/Funky16Corners on WMUA-FM, UMASS Amherst, 4/18/11

Sweet Exorcist is held at a very groovy joint called the People’s Pint in Greenfield, MA, and I have to tell you, if you’re in the area, and crave some excellent food and drink, this is the place for you. I’m a ginger beer fanatic, and the People’s Pint makes their own, as well as house made cola, root beer, and a few varieties of regular beer (I tried the oatmeal stout and was very pleased).

The records started spinning around 10PM, and the night was a gas. Both DJ Andujar and Studebaker Hawk brought the heat (as you’ll hear when you pull down the ones and zeros) and I did my level best not to disappoint.

The peeps were dancing, the vinyl was spinning and a good time was had by all. Many thanks to the DJs (and the staff at the People’s Pint) for a great night.

The following night I was on my own (my wife was with the little Corners) and I packed up the record box and headed over to Northampton for Wooly Bully at the Basement.

Yours truly staring intently at the PA system @ the Basement, somehow sensing impending failure…

Run by Snack Attack and DJ Cashman, Wooly Bully runs a little more in the 60s soul direction, and I’d packed a grip of Northern and 60s dance floor soul for the occasion. The Basement is a small room in the back of a building, but by the time the music got started it was packed to the rafters with party people who never stopped dancing until the lights came on and the door guy ushered them out into the night at closing time.

Hazy cellphone pics of the Basment

(Top) Billy Butler on the decks

(Bottom) Imagine these people plus about 100 more revelers, packed like soulful sardines

The place was a madhouse, and much good music was spun and danced to.

Unfortunately – and this was the only sour note of the whole trip – my recordings from the Basement were unusable. The levels were set too high and the recordings were distorted. There were other technical issues (the PA system overheated at one point) but they were all surmountable.  Hopefully, if I make a return visit during the summer, I can remedy the situation and bring back a couple of sets by Snack Attack and DJ Cashman, who both rocked the house.

Today I’ll be trying something new, which is basically posting sets by everyone who spun at Sweet Exorcist. I won’t be posting my first set, since there was a problem with a ground wire and there’s an annoying buzz that cuts into the music at a number of points.

It’s interesting to hear the different sensibilities of three DJs, all funky, but coming at the sound from different angles.
My assessment of a quality night is one where I walk away from the evening with new records added to my want list, and Sweet Exorcist definitely fit the bill.

I hope you dig the sounds, and I’ll be back later in the week 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 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.