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By Larry, June 16, 2019 10:45 am

Funky16Corners Presents: Breaking Down the Walls of Heartache
A Solid Hour of Soul For Dancers 

Isley Brothers – Got To Have You Back (Tamla)|
Bandwagon – Breaking Down the Walls of Heartache (Epic)
Teri Nelson Group – Love Is Getting Better (Kama Sutra)
Yvonne Fair – Just As Sure As You Play (You Will Pay) (Smash)
Little Richard – Whole Lotta Shaking Going On (Veejay)
Billy Graham and the Escalators – Ooh Poo Pah Doo (Atlantic)
Anna King- If You Don’t Think (Smash)
Jimmy Jones – Don’t You Just Know It (Parkway)
Bobby Whitlock – And I Love You (HIP)
Big Dee Irwin – Discotheque (Roulette)
Aldora Britton – Do It With Soul (Columbia)
Betty Everett – I Can’t Hear You No More (Veejay)
Monti Rock III – For Days and Days (Mercury)
Johnny Moore – A Dollar Ninety Eight (Wand)
Maxine Brown – Anything You Do Is Alright (Wand)
Jun Mayuzumi – Black Room (Capitol JP)
Spyder Turner – Dream Lover (MGM)
Sweet Inspirations – Just Walk In My Shoes (Atco)
Bobby Lester – Hang Up Your Hang Ups (Columbia)
Johnny Daye – I Need You (Stax)
Toni Lamarr  – If I Didn’t Love You (Buddah)
Capitols – We Got a Thing That’s In the Groove (Karen)
Delcords – Just a Little Misunderstanding (UP)
Joe E Young and the Toniks – Get That Feeling (Toast)
Alvin Cash and the Crawlers – Do It One More Time (the Twine) (Mar V Lus)

Listen/Download -Funky16Corners: Breaking Down the Walls of Heartache – 114MB Mixed MP3

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Funky16Corners Presents: Loose and Groovy
An Hour of Instrumental Wonderfullness Packed With Breaks!

Dizzy Gillespie – Stomped and Wasted (GWP)
Sonny Cox – Chocolate Candy (Bell)
Cal Tjader – The Tra La La Song (Skye)
George Shearing, the Quintet and the Amigos – Aquarius (MPS/BASF)
Gordon Staples and the String Thing – Get Down (Tamla)
Bob Dorough – A Taste of Honey (MMO)
Harry J All Stars – Spyrone (Harry J)
Impact of Brass – So Far So Good (Rare Earth)
Al Serafini his Electronic Sax and Orchestra – Lil Rosey (Audio Fidelity)
Willie Bobo – Grazing In the Grass (Verve)
Odell Brown and the Organizers – Day Tripper (Cadet)
Terumasa Hino Quintet – Snake Hip (Capitol JP)
Lou Garno Quintet – Chicken In the Basket (Giovannia)
Johnny Frigo Quartet – Dance of Love (Orion)
Richard Fudoli – Gwee (Date)
Soulful Strings – Zambezi (Cadet)
The Touch – Pick and Shovel (LeCasVer)
Soul Searchers – Think (Sussex)

Listen/Download -Funky16Corners: Loose and Groovy – 87MB Mixed MP3

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Greetings all.

The Funky16Corners 2019 Allnighter/Pledge Drive is here!

Things are looking (much) different this year.

This is the 10th year of doing a pledge drive here at Funky16Corners, and the landscape, and (forgive the use of the word) ‘mission’ of Funky16Corners has evolved fairly drastically since the blog opened it’s doors nearly 15 years ago (not counting the webzine years).

The world of music blogging is not what it once was. The way people access music and information on the web is a whole different thing than it was when I started. Traffic is a small fraction of what it once was.

The main thrust of what I do here at Funky16Corners has also changed significantly.

Starting with single-song blog posts in the early days, moving on to DJ mixes, then the beginning of the Funky16Corners Radio Show (which is nearing the 500 episode mark!), then the various and sundry guest mixes, in and outside of the pledge drive context.

I have to begin by sending out my thanks to all of the amazing DJs that have been generous with their time and their records over the years, all of whom I am proud to have featured at Funky16Corners.

The last few years have seen my move into live radio broadcasts, with Funky16Corners Radio Show and Testify!, my show for WFMU’s Give the Drummer Radio appearing weekly, and the Iron Leg Radio Show (nearing 100 episodes) monthly.

As a result of the workload associated with this change, the frequency of blog posts has decreased to once a week.

This year I decided that I needed to take a break from the Allnighter/Summer of Soul format, if only to ease off of the workload associated with putting it all together (and maybe spend a little more time with the fam while they’re home for the summer).

In it’s place I have created two brand new, hour-long mixes.

The first, Breaking Down the Walls of Heartache is an hour of dancefloor soul, with a grip of new and recent arrivals in the Funky16Corners crates.

The second. Loose and Groovy is a collection of instrumentals, many of them funky, packed with breaks and loopable grooves for days.

The focus on using Patreon to raise money to pay the bills around here (paying for server space/bandwidth and broadcast fees) has proven to make a lot of sense, moreso than the previously used Paypal model.

If you dig any of the stuff I do here, any of the radio shows, or the mix archives, or even if you’re one of the few that still read the blog posts, please consider signing up for Patreon and making a small, recurring, monthly donation of a few dollars.

You can click on the link below.

It’s pretty simple, very safe and a great way to keep Funky16Corners up and running for another year.

So thanks in advance, and enjoy the tunes!

Keep the Faith

Larry

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The pledging will continue this year with Patreon (click here or on the logo below to go to the Funky16Corners page) , where you will be able to spread your contributions out over the entire year, which will help cover the ongoing server/broadcast/hardware expenses. This year has seen the move to 100 percent live broadcasting (Mixlr.com/Funky16corners)  and continued hardware and software upgrades at Funky16Corners central, to keep the radio/podcasting experience as seamless and groovy as possible. So please dig deep so we can continue to do the same, and if you’re already a Patreon donor, please accept my heartfelt thanks!

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I am also including a Paypal donation button (below) if you’d rather donate in a lump sum instead of the rolling donation in Patreon.

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So, download and dig the mixes, keep digging the radio shows!

Also, make sure to follow Funky16Corners on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Keep the faith

Larry

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PS Head over to Iron Leg when you have a minute!. <

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By Larry, February 24, 2019 10:44 am

Frank D’Rone

Listen/Download – Frank D’Rone – Think I Will MP3

Greetings all.

I was wandering around in my to-be-blogged folder, and was shocked that I had never written up today’s selection.

I forget exactly where I first happened upon Frank D’Rone’s 1968 ‘Brand New Morning’, but all bets are on Soulstrut as the source.

D’Rone was a Chicago-area jazz singer, who had recorded a number of albums for Mercury in the 60s, before hooking up with Cadet Records and the mighty Richard Evans.

The album is a pretty straight ahead, swinging jazz affair, but the track I bring you today, ‘Think I Will’ not only skirts the edges of funk, but is as fine an arrangement as Richard Evans ever did.

I forget where I saw the session information, but it was very likely that this tune was recorded at the same session as Clea Bradford’s ‘My Love’s a Monster’, to which it has many stylistic similarities.

A Pretty Solid Week For Cadet (from Billboard Magazine 1968)

D’Rone is a solid, energetic singer, and the arrangement is pure Evans, with big booming brass, powerful drums and, bright, almost explosive production.

The really groovy thing is, while Evans produced the sessions and arranged about half the tracks, the other half was arranged by Johnny Pate, making this something of a Chicago super-session.

‘Think I Will’ is not well known here in the States, but was a fixture on the UK jazz dance scene for years. As a result the 45 can be kind of pricey, but the LP can be had for much less.

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

Also, make sure to follow Funky16Corners on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Keep the faith

Larry

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If you dig what we do here or over at Funky16Corners, please consider clicking on the Patreon link and throwing something into the yearly operating budget! Do it and we’ll send you some groovy Funky16Corners Radio Network (and related) stickers!

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By Larry, January 20, 2019 2:16 pm

Joe Johnson and his Hammond

Listen/Download – Joe Johnson Trio – Son of Ice Bag MP3

Greetings all.

I hope the new week finds you well.

The track I bring you today is from what most would consider a private press album (as far a I can tell the ‘label’ never issued anything else).

The performer is organist Joe Johnson, and the track, ‘Son of Ice Bag’ appears on the album ‘Jazz In Jersey’.

I can’t find any information to indicate that Johnson ever recorded anything else, under how own name, or as a sideman.

‘Jazz In Jersey’ appears to have been released in 1973, and while Johnson and most of the sidemen listed are obscure, the guitarist, Thornell Schwartz spent a lot of time recording with big name organists like Jimmy Smith, Johnny Hammond Smith and Larry Young.

The track, ‘Son of Ice Bag’ was written and first released by Hugh Masekela in 1967. It was covered a few years later by Lonnie Smith.

Johnson aquits himself nicely, and the arrangement, which hews pretty closely to the Lonnie Smith take, is cool.

I wish I knew more about Johnson. The record – despite the title – was recorded in Philadelphia, and the liner notes mention that he received an award in Philadelphia. They also say he worked with Lou Donaldson and Houston Person, but I can’t find any information to suggest that he recorded with either of them. My suspicion is that he was another working musician, probably grinding it out in night clubs and bars but never making the connection in the studios.

I hope you dig the sounds, and if you have any info on Joe Johnson, please drop me a line.

Also, make sure to follow Funky16Corners on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Keep the faith

Larry

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If you dig what we do here or over at Funky16Corners, please consider clicking on the Patreon link and throwing something into the yearly operating budget! Do it and we’ll send you some groovy Funky16Corners Radio Network (and related) stickers!

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By Larry, December 9, 2018 11:58 am

The Picture Sleeve

Listen/Download – Georges Raudi – Stercok MP3

Greetings all.

The track I bring you today is one of those things that I first encountered back in the old Soulstrut days, and managed to pick up a few years later.

The track ‘Stercok’ originated on the soundtrack to a 1970s French TV series about the cat burglar Arsene Lupin (about whom other films had been made, before and after this show).

The ‘soundtrack’ as it was, was restricted to two sides of a 45. One side a terrible Jacques Dutronc song, and the other, this very groovy, funky Hammond instrumental.

Though the cut is credited to Georges Raudi and His Orchestra, it seems the artists name is correctly spelled ‘Rodi’.

Georges Rodi was a keyboardist and composer with a ton of credits as a sideman and several albums under his own name.

‘Stercok’ (I have no idea what the title refers to) starts out with a punchy drum roll, followed by thumping bass, distorted rhythm guitar and lots of atmospheric, Hawkshaw-esque organ work. There are also piano solos (probably Rodi, as well).

The feel is very much a perfect late 60s/early 70s discotheque-au-go-go vibe, and I can definitely picture it being used as the background to a swinging scene.

Interestingly, for a groovy, French-only 45 release, ‘Stercok’ isn’t terribly expensive or hard to track down, so go get yourself a copy.

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

Also, make sure to follow Funky16Corners on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Keep the faith

Larry

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If you dig what we do here or over at Funky16Corners, please consider clicking on the Patreon link and throwing something into the yearly operating budget! Do it and we’ll send you some groovy Funky16Corners Radio Network (and related) stickers!

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By Larry, December 2, 2018 11:55 am

Lionel Hampton

Listen/Download – Lionel Hampton – Funky Chicken MP3

Greetings all.

I have sung the praises of the mighty Lionel Hampton in this space many times over the years.

Hampton had serious, solid jazz credentials going back to the mid-1930s and the Benny Goodman Orchestra.

Like many of his contemporaries, when the 1960’s rolled around, and the demand for, and popularity of large jazz bands started to wane, Hampton made many (artistically) successful attempts at musical relevancy, including the epic 45 ‘Greasy Greens’ on his own Glad-Hamp label.

Starting in 1972 Hampton signed with Brunswick Records and recorded a series of albums aimed at a younger market, recording versions of many contemporary pop and soul hits.

1976’s ‘Off Into a Black Thing’ was his fifth and final outing for Brunswick, and despite it’s placement firmly in the disco era, it included a number of earlier, funkier sounds.

The track I bring you today is Hampton covering Willie Henderson’s 1970 ‘Funky Chicken’ (the title track of Hampton’s album is another tune from Henderson’s album).

‘Funky Chicken’ isn’t only a cover, but it also uses the same backing track as the 1970 original, with Hampton soloing over it (and someone rapping over that).

It’s nothing groundbreaking, but since the OG is so funky, and Hamp’s (he was closing in on 70 when he recorded it!) vibes sound very groovy indeed, I’ll take it.

Oddly enough, Hampton’s Brunswick albums are fairly hard to come by, but worth picking up when you find them.

I hope you dig the tune, and I’ll see you all next week.

Also, make sure to follow Funky16Corners on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Keep the faith

Larry

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If you dig what we do here or over at Funky16Corners, please consider clicking on the Patreon link and throwing something into the yearly operating budget! Do it and we’ll send you some groovy Funky16Corners Radio Network (and related) stickers!

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By Larry, August 19, 2018 1:48 pm

Street Jazz!
A Mix By: HeavySoulBrutha

1. Caesar Frazier – Sweet Children
2. Roy Ayers – We Live In Brooklyn, Baby
3. Eddie Henderson – Kumquat Kids
4. The Crusaders – Chain Reaction
5. Donald Byrd – Places And Spaces
6. Bobbi Humphrey – New York Times
7. Amir Deodato – Skyscrapers
8. Ahmad Jamal – Boatride
9. Idris Muhammad – Loran’s Dance

Listen/Download – HeavySoulBrutha Dave B – Street Jazz – 101MB Mixed MP3

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Greetings all.

The Funky16Corners 2018 Allnighter/Pledge Drive aka The Summer of Soul 2 has begun!

We continue this year’s Summer of Soul mix series with a new mix from my man HeavySoulBrutha Dave B.

A few words from the DJ:

Thanks again to Larry for inviting me in. Always a pleasure! Got about an hour of some of my favorite Jazz Funk cuts this time around for you. This stuff always makes me think of the city. A little gritty. A little groovy. Always funky! Hope you enjoy, and be sure and leave a little cash for the cause. Peace and SOUL… Dave aka HeavySoulBrutha

We will continue with a new mix every week for the duration of the summer, with a selection of stellar contributions from some of my (and your) favorite selectors including DJ Prestige, Ben Gibson, DJ Prime Mundo, DJ RP of Funkdefy, Vincent the Soul Chef, Chris Lujan of the M-Tet, DJ Bluewater, HeavySoulBrutha Dave B. and new contributor, DJ Scott Boyko and Soultaker73.

The pledging will continue this year with Patreon (click here or on the logo below to go to the Funky16Corners page) , where you will be able to spread your contributions out over the entire year, which will help cover the ongoing server/broadcast/hardware expenses. This year has seen the move to 100 percent live broadcasting (Mixlr.com/Funky16corners)  and continued hardware and software upgrades at Funky16Corners central, to keep the radio/podcasting experience as seamless and groovy as possible. So please dig deep so we can continue to do the same, and if you’re already a Patreon donor, please accept my heartfelt thanks!

In addition to all the broadcasts and the blogging all of the Funky16Corners and Iron Leg mix archives will continue.

I am also including a Paypal donation button (below) if you’d rather donate in a lump sum instead of the rolling donation in Patreon.

Don’t forget, my weekly radio show for WFMU’s Give the Drummer Radio, Testify! is on the air live, every Wednesday night from 10-12. If you dig Funky16Corners and/or Iron Leg I think you’ll dig it. So tune in when you get a chance!
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So, download and dig the mix, keep digging the radio shows, and we’ll be back next week with another groovy mix.

Also, make sure to follow Funky16Corners on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Keep the faith

Larry

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PS Head over to Iron Leg when you have a minute!. <

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By Larry, January 21, 2018 12:33 pm

Funky16Corners Radio v.80 – Forbidden City Organs

Recorded Live in NYC 1-27-10

Playlist

Funky16Corners Presents: Forbidden City Organs –
Recorded Live 1/27/10

Before we get started, I want to say that after serious consideration with the Funky16Corners board of directors, and close consultation with some serious heads (not the least of whom being my man DJ Prestige) I have decided not to deep six the old versions of the blog (WordPress and Blogger). While I did deactivate all active content links on both sites (replacing them with redirects where necessary), since I was unable to do a full export of the WordPress blog, and could not bring over the comments on the old blog posts, AND since I consider reader commentary to be an important part of the process (mainly because so many of you contribute information via those posts) I figured it would benefit all parties to keep the old sites up and running (with any luck as long as this sentence).

Anything you might travel back there to hear, can now be heard here in the new Funky16Corners Radio Podcast and Guest Mix Archives.

The mix you see before you today was supposed to be up in this space on Friday, but I just had too damn much to do, and so I had to put it off for a couple of days. I think, however that you will be pleased when you pull down the ones and zeros and stuff it in your ears.

For you see (hear), Funky16Corners Radio v.80* is just about an hour of high octane, Hammond fueled groove grease guaranteed to get you off your ass, slipping and sliding across the floor, with the hip-shaking, and the wild gesticulation, and the shaking of the hair, gospel wailing and general good times.

Big words those, but I think once the sounds have been ingested, you will concur.

It all started thusly…

Back before Christmas, my lovely wife asked me what I wanted as a holiday gift. I generally reply to these queries with a shrug and a ‘Don’t worry ‘bout me on account of I pretty much have everything I need’. However, this year there was something I had my eye on, so I sent my wife the link, and ‘Bob’s yer uncle’ a brand new digital recorded dropped into my stocking.

My main motivation in requesting this new bit of hardware was so that my casting of the pods would be facilitated, but as is the norm when I get a new toy, I find some other, more interesting way to put it to work, and so I did.

It was at the last Asbury Park 45 Sessions that I brought my recorder along and attempted to record my set right off the board. I thought everything had gone swimmingly, until I got up the next morning, transferred the file onto my laptop and discovered that Einstein (that’s me, heh heh…) hadn’t read the instructions properly, and what I had recorded was not the mix off the board, but all the ambient noise surrounding it. I tossed that one into the old electronic wastebasket and set my sights on my next set at Master Groove.

Well my friends, it was a success.

I had spoken to my host the esteemed DJ Bluewater about what I would play this time, and I suggested a ‘theme set’ of sorts. He thought this was a good idea, so I sat down in the midst of my record vault and started digging. I had originally thought I might do a Northern Soul thing (next time out maybe) but I happened upon a clump of solid Hammond 45s, so I took that as a sign and continued in that direction.

What you have here is an actual live mix, recorded directly from the booth monitor line on the mixer, no fiddling/editing involved.

If you’ve visited with me here over the years, you’ll already be aware that I am a first class Hammond organ nut, and my crates run deep. When I started pulling stuff to compose my set, I extracted enough records for three or four sets, and then sat down with the turntable and selected a little over an hour’s worth of faves.

The records you’ll hear in this mix are the very cream of the dancefloor Hammond crop, with lots of your big keyboard wranglers (Messrs Earland, Doggett, McCall, Lewis, Van Dyke, Frog and Carnegie) a couple of unusual sources (Albert Collins and the Turtles, yes, the Turtles) and a few things you may not have heard before.

As stated previously, my intention here was to whip something up to get the dancers moving, so if you’re playing this inside your corporate veal pen, try not to spill your coffee/disturb your neighbor. If you’re on the bus, piping it in via earbuds, don’t be surprised if your neighbor attempts to administer first aid, since you may appear to be involved in convulsions of some sort.

That said, I will refrain from further comment, letting the sounds speak for themselves.

I hope you dig the mix, and rest assured that I will endeavor to bring you more of the same (both live, and organ mixes) in the coming months.

Peace

Larry

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By Larry, September 10, 2017 10:36 am

Funky16Corners Late Night

Les James Trio – Joe’s Theme (Century)
James Rivers – It’s All Over (Kon-Ti)
Monk Higgins – Who Dun It (St Lawrence)
EJ’s Unlimited – Rockin’ In the Same Old Boat (Back Beat)
Steve Allen (feat Gabor Szabo) – Fox (Dunhill)
Young Holt Unlimited – Listen Here (Brunswick)
Duke of Burlington – Soul Clap 69 (Joker)
Errol Garner – Watermelon Man (MGM)
Phil Moore Jr – Hog Call (Atco)
Sonny Cox – Chocolate Candy (Bell)
Rhine Oaks – Tampin’ (Atco)
South Suburban Electric Strings – Blues for Strings and Things (Nickel)
Gabor Szabo – Pretty Girl Why (Blue Thumb)

Listen/Download – Funky16Corners Late Night 106MB Mixed MP3

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Greetings all.

Welcome to Part Twelve of the Funky16Corners 2017 Allnighter/Pledge Drive aka The Summer of Soul!

This is an extra special bonus mix that makes it’s downloadable debut here. I put it together for the This Is Funkaholic radio show a few months ago, and thought that I would tack it on to the end of the Summer of Soul festivities.

This is – as the title suggests – engineered specifically for late night play, mining the mellow grooves.

The fundraising aspect of the 2017 Summer of Soul hasn’t been all that encouraging.

Whether it was the change in format, the switch to Patreon, or just a general lack of interest, I can’t really say, but if you were waiting for an appropriate time to toss something into the mix, now would be it.

So dig the sounds, and make sure to click on the Patreon button to help keep the lights on here at Funky16Corners! Fundraising up to this point has not been very encouraging, so please do what you can. It is as always greatly appreciated.

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The fundraiser will also take a slightly different form this year, moving to Patreon (click here or on the logo below to go to the Funky16Corners page) , where you will be able to spread your contributions out over the entire year (i.e. if you pledge 12 bucks, it doles it out a dollar a month over the course of a year), which will help cover the ongoing server/broadcast/hardware expenses. This year has seen the upgrade of a couple of crucial pieces of equipment, and any help you fine people can provide will keep the machinery moving here at Funky16Corners central.

So please dig deep so we can continue to do the same!

In addition to all the broadcasts and the blogging all of the Funky16Corners and Iron Leg mix archives will continue.

As I have mentioned recently, the changes to the general format here are as thus – The concentration of the operation will continue its shift to podcasting/radio, with the Funky16Corners Radio Show originating every week as a live broadcast, Thursday nights at 9PM Eastern on MIXLR, and will continue to be posted as a downloadable podcast every Friday, and broadcast in the UK on Cruising Radio.

The Iron Leg Radio Show will also move to a monthly live broadcast (day to be determined) also on MIXLR and will continue to be broadcast on Cruising Radio in the UK.

Don’t forget, my weekly radio show for WFMU’s Give the Drummer Radio, Testify! is on the air live, every Wednesday night from 10-12. If you dig Funky16Corners and/or Iron Leg I think you’ll dig it. So tune in when you get a chance!
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So, download and dig the mix, keep digging the radio shows, and we’ll be back next week with another groovy mix.

Also, make sure to follow Funky16Corners on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Keep the faith

Larry

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PS Head over to Iron Leg when you have a minute!. <

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By Larry, August 16, 2016 12:36 pm

Bobby Hutcherson

Listen/Download – Bobby Hutcherson feat. Harold Land – Ummh MP3

Listen/Download – Bobby Hutcherson feat. Harold Land – Goin’ Down South MP3

Greetings all.

I woke up this morning to the extremely sad news that one of my musical heroes, the mighty vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson had passed away.

I have been a jazz fan my entire life, but there was a period in the late 80s and early 90s, in the years right after I stopped playing in bands and decided to spend my time intently listening, that I bought, studied and listened to almost nothing but jazz.

Though I was digging everything from Bix Beiderbecke to Archie Shepp, the broadest area of my focus was applied to the post-bop/modal/out years from the late 50s to the early 70s, and in large part to the sounds of the Blue Note label.

At the time, Blue Note was engaged in an aggressive CD reissue campaign, part of which was the Connoisseur Series, in which they pressed up some of the more obscure, challenging and interesting titles from their back catalog in limited quantities. I picked up the discs in that series religiously, as well as anything else I could find that I dug, sometimes to the tune of three or four albums a week.

It was during that time that I discovered and fell in love with the music of Bobby Hutcherson.

If you come here on the reg, or dig the podcast, you know that I am a certified vibes nut, and Hutcherson was a master of the instrument (as well as the xylophone and marimba) who played in a wide variety of settings as a leader and a sideman, and in styles ranging from bebop, to modal, to inside/outside to free jazz with just about every great musician associated with Blue Note.

Head on over to Discogs and take a look as his own catalog, as well as his work as a sideman.

I was lucky enough to see him play (and meet him briefly) back in the 90s when he played in New York City.

The tracks I bring you today are from the funkiest date he did, 1971’s ‘San Francisco’, recorded with the giant of the tenor saxophone, Harold Land.

Land, who had been working steadily since the late 40s, and had been a crucial member of the Clifford Brown/Max Roach band, formed a partnership with Hutcherson in the late 60s, with the pair recording a number of albums (trading the leader’s position) over the next decade for a variety of labels.

‘San Francisco’ was a west coast date, featuring Joe Sample (of the Crusaders) on electric and acoustic piano (he also wrote ‘Goin’ Down South’),  Hutcherson and Land stretching out on some more groove-oriented material, and great production by Duke Pearson.

You’ve heard ‘Ummh’ and ‘Goin’ Down South’ in mixes here at Funky16Corners, but neither has been featured on the blog.

Both tunes have been sampled, ‘Goin’ Down South’ by Us3 and ‘Ummh’ by Ice Cube.

I’m also re-posting below, an all-vibes mix I put together in 2010 called ‘Positive Vibrations’, which features Hutcherson, as well as a number of his contemporaries from the 60s and 70s laying down funky and soulful vibes.

Funky16Corners Radio v.79 – Positive Vibrations!

Playlist

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By Larry, May 12, 2016 11:23 am

Sonny Cox

Listen/Download – Sonny Cox – Chocolate Candy MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here, and so is the Funky16Corners Radio Show podcast, which drops each and every Friday with the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove, all on original vinyl. You can subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, listen on your mobile device via the TuneIn app, dig it on Mixcloud, or grab an MP3 right here at Funky16Corners.com (and coming soon to Dirty Old Boston Radio).

I have a very groovy one for you today.

I was out scouting the hinterlands of the internet, on the prowl for records (you know, like always) and while perusing a sales list happened upon today’s selection.

Though I knew the name Sonny Cox, what grabbed me was the title ‘Chocolate Candy’.

‘Could this be the same ‘Chocolate Candy’ that the Soulful Strings recorded?’ I asked myself.

A quick enlargement of the label, which revealed the writer as Phil Upchurch confirmed my suspicions, so I grabbed it.

You all know that there probably isn’t a bigger fan of Richard Evans and the Soulful Strings in the world than yours truly, and finding covers of their material is a rare event, indeed.

‘Chocolate Candy’ first appeared on the group’s 1969 ‘String Fever’ album (their best, IMHO). Upchurch was the guitarist in the Chess/Cadet house band, who also recorded a number of excellent records under his own name (though, as far as I can tell he never recorded ‘Chocolate Candy’ on his own).

Sonny Cox was a sax player who formed the Three Souls and recorded with them for the Chess subsidiary Argo, eventually recording a solo album, ‘The Wailer’ for Cadet in 1966, which was arranged and produced by none other than Richard Evans.

Cox recorded ‘Chocolate Candy’, again with Evans producing, for Bell in 1969. He lays down a dark, reverb-filled version of the song on what sounds like a Varitone electric saxophone, with some great guitar, heavy bass and organ and handclaps.

The record didn’t go anywhere (though the flipside, a cover of ‘The Choking Kind’ got some airplay in Washington, DC.

Cox seems to have retired in the early 70s, taking up a new career as a high school basketball coach in the Chicago area.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

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Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived! The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock. They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US). Click here to go to the ordering page.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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By Larry, May 8, 2016 11:57 am

Mel Brown

Listen/Download – Mel Brown – 18 Pounds of Unclean Chitlings Pt1 MP3

Listen/Download – Mel Brown – 18 Pounds of Unclean Chitlings Pt2 MP3

Greetings all.

I have written about the mighty guitar slinger Mel Brown a couple of times over the years, including (unfortunately)when he passed away in 2009.

Brown made some of the tastiest, funkiest soul jazz albums of the late 60s and early 70s for the Impulse label, and I always grab his stuff when I find it in the field.

So, a little while back my man Tony C drops me a line to say that he saw a copy of today’s selection as a very affordable ‘buy it now’on Ebay, so I jetted over there, dropped a couple of bucks and camped out by the maibox in anticipation of its arrival.

Recorded for his 1970 album ‘I’d Rather Suck My Thumb’, ’18 Pounds of Unclean Chitlings’ is a record as deep and weird as its title.

Featuring Clifford Coulter on the organ, and Brown working his wah-wah pedal to death, ’18 Pounds of Unclean Chitlings’ sounds like the traces of a distant broadcast drifting from your speakers.

Displaying the unmistakable influence of Jimi Hendrix and all of the crackly, hoodoo-soaked 45s that fed into his stewpot, the jam is as tasty, and sinister a 45 as you’re likely to hear today.

The album cut stretches to 11:10, which the 45 breaks down into two parts, edited down to a hair short of 7 minutes.

What Impulse thought they were doing sending this one out on a 45 is beyond me (imagine this oozing out of a jukebox), but I dig it a lot, and thought you might, too.

A couple of his Impulse dates (but not this one) are available on iTunes.

You should check them out.

See you on Wednesday.

Keep the faith

Larry

____________________________________________________________________________

Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived! The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock. They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US). Click here to go to the ordering page.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, April 19, 2016 11:32 am

The Crusaders on the cover of ‘2nd Crusade’

Listen/Download – The Crusaders – Gotta Get It On MP3

Greetings all.

I though we’d all ease into the middle of the week with something funky by the mighty Crusaders.

If you’re a seasoned digger, it’d just about be a miracle if you weren’t already deep into the Crusaders catalog.

Their records, both in their earlier incarnation as the Jazz Crusaders (for World Pacific/Pacific Jazz) and then in their time as the Crusaders (the funky instrumentals on Blue Thumb/Chisa, like today’s selection) and the smoother hitmakers (like ‘Street Life’ on MCA), are ubiquitous and almost always affordable, and in most cases, worth taking home.

Today’s tune, the very groovy ‘Gotta Get It On’ hails from their 1972 LP ‘2nd Crusade’.

Written by drummer Stix Hooper, the tune is pushed along by Joe Sample’s electric piano, the horns of Wayne Henderson and Wilton Felder, and Larry Carlton’s guitar.

The Crusaders always had a funky edge (‘small ‘f’ funky’ in the old school, down and dirty soul jazz stylee), and their early 70s albums pump it into upper case, creating a very tasty, bright, somewhat laid back Southern California groove that you can hear echoes of in early Steely Dan albums.

You probably won’t be spinning this stuff for a funk 45 crowd, but its ability to get heads nodding is second to none.

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

Keep the faith

Larry

____________________________________________________________________________

Also, the brand new Funky16Corners ‘Keep Calm and Stay Funky’ stickers have arrived! The stickers are 4″ x 3″ and printed on high quality, glossy stock. They are $2.00 each, with free shipping in the US ($2.00 per order shipping outside of the US). Click here to go to the ordering page.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.