Category: Jazz funk

Kool and the Gang – Jungle Jazz

By , December 31, 2015 11:06 am

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Kool and the Gang

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Listen/Download – Kool and the Gang – Jungle Jazz MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is near, and so I will encourage you to partake in the soulful smorgasmord that is the weekly Funky16Corners Radio Show, in which I endeavor to bring you the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove, all on original vinyl. The show drops every week (the first show of every month at SoulGuyRadio.com) and you can subscribe to it as a podcast in iTunes, listen on your mobile device via the TuneIn app, or grab an MP3 here at the blog.

We close out the week (and the year, Happy New Year!) with something deeply funky, designed (and guaranteed) to get your ass up out of the chair and onto the dance floor.

I have sung the praises of New Jersey’s own Kool and the Gang a number of times over the years, telling the story of how it was their music, way back in the 5th grade at Milford Brook School that truly introduced me to the funk.

Today’s selection will sound instantly familiar, as it is the 1975 reworking of their 1973 hit ‘Jungle Boogie’, offered here as ‘Jungle Jazz’.

While ‘Jungle Boogie’ is itself a hot piece of work, ‘Jungle Jazz’ sounds like Kool et al weren’t satisfied with the overall funk quotient of the OG, so they went back into the lab and Frankensteined that shit right up, with a mess of drums and some very tasty flute.

Sure, you get the gong at the beginning, but when those drums drop in…holy shit. George ‘Funky’ Brown beats that bass drum like it stole his lunch money, and then the various and sundry percussion accents (cowbells, conga, wood blocks etc) come in and all of a sudden you’re out on the floor shaking like a man (or woman) possessed.

That drum opening is a funky-ass miracle, which is why it was sampled so often.*

Despite the fact that what you’re getting here is a reengineered ‘Jungle Boogie’, the band really work hard to add to the cut. The flute, by Dennis Thomas is some next-level, overblowing ish in a Jeremy Steig stylee, and the horn section is really working it out, too.

This is the kind of record that funk nights were designed for, and if you cannot (or will not) dance to it (even in your seat) your shocking lack of soul will be duly noted.

So pull down the ones and zeros, and whip this on some squares.

Have a great weekend, Happy New Year and see you in 2016!

Keep the faith

Larry

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* Records sampling – “Jungle Jazz”
2 Live Crew’s “Hangin Out”
3rd Bass’s “Brooklyn-Queens”
Biz Markie’s “I’m the Biz Markie”
Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E.’s “Rated R”
Brand Nubian’s “Drop the Bomb”
Gus Gus’s “Believe”
Hi-C’s “Leave My Curl Alone”
Incognito’s “Roots (Back to a Way of Life)”
Jade’s “Don’t Walk Away”
MARRS’s “Pump up the Volume”
Public Enemy’s “Anti-Ni**er Machine”
Stetsasonic’s “So Let the Fun Begin”

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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.

Grant Green – Sookie Sookie

By , November 8, 2015 10:49 am

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Grant Green

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Listen/Download – Grant Green – Sookie Sookie (45 Edit) MP3

Greetings all.

If you haven’t yet ingested your morning coffee, I’d hold off until after you’ve given today’s selection a spin.

I issue such a warning, because the record you see before you, Grant Green’s version of Don Covay’s soul classic ‘Sookie Sookie’ is one of the deepest, funkiest, dancingest, soul jazz grooves ever committed to vinyl.

Grant Green was of course one of the greatest jazz/soul jazz axemen of the 50s, 60s and 70s. He made a grip of classics for Blue Note as both a leader and as one of the label’s more flexible sidemen, and was hip enough that when jazzers started to whip a little soul and funk into the mix, he did it extraordinarily well. So much so that he has appeared here at Funky16Corners a number of times over the years.

‘Sookie Sookie’ – a 45 edit of the 11 minute plus track from the ‘Alive!’ LP, which was recorded in Newark, NJ in 1970 – is one of those records, like the Village Callers’ ‘Hector’ that is just about impossible to listen to without moving in some way, shape or form.

Naturally, any sane person would get up and dance, but head-nodding and foot tapping are also acceptable substitutes.

Featuring Ronnie Foster on organ (just listen to him pumping out the bass on his pedals) , Joseph Armstrong on congas and the mighty Idris Muhammad on drums, ‘Sookie Sookie’ is funky right out of the gate, and only gets funkier as it goes on.

Green plays around a little with the verse, but as soon as the chorus comes up, with a wave of Hammond organ, you know what song it is you’re digging.

The transition from the chorus into Green’s guitar solo (with some nice accents in the background by Willie Bivvens on the vibes) is tasty indeed.

Back in the early 90s, Us3 had themselves a hit when they pretty much lifted the whole song (I think would be unfair to call what they used a “sample”) and rebuilt it as ‘Tukka Yoot’s Riddim’ with toasting by Tukka Yoot (naturally…) over the top.

It is a heavy record, indeed. So get up on your desk and dance.

See you on Wednesday.

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.

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

 

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PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Deodato/Airto – Do It Again b/w Some Important News…

By , October 29, 2015 10:38 am

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Eumir Deodato & Airto Moreira

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Listen/Download – Deodato/Airto – Do It Again MP3

Greetings all.

An important programming note!

The end of the week approacheth, and changes are afoot!

The Funky16Corners Radio Show had a home on Viva Radio for nearly seven years. As of this week, that relationship is coming to an end, I will be leaving Viva, and the show will exist purely as a podcast.

I make this change reluctantly, but due to a string of unfortunate technical difficulties the show did not air in its time slot at least twice in a month, and my requests for explanations or guarantees that these problems would be fixed going forward have gone ignored.

As a result, the Funky16Corners Radio Show will continue to drop every week, on Friday. You can subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, listen on your mobile device via the TuneIn app, or click on the link here at the blog and stream or download the episodes.

So stay tuned, keep digging the show, and I will keep you informed of any further developments.

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As a big Steely Dan fan, I can never get enough of cover versions of their songs (a few of which have appeared here before), and the one I bring you today is especially cool.

What you see before you is a 3:30 edit of the original 6:29 track recorded live by Eumir Deodato and Airto Moreira for the 1974 ‘Deodato/Airto In Concert’ LP.

This cut is yet more proof that if you aren’t down with the CTI sound, you are missing out some some of the grooviest, funky (and often smooth) jazz of the early 70s.

The arrangement (aside from its lack of voice) isn’t too far removed from the Steely Dan OG, with an extra layer of Fender Rhodes, plenty of percussion (Rubens Bassini and Gilmore Degap) and nice, heavy horn section.

The hot lead guitar is provided by John Tropea.

Interestingly, though they are billed equally on the cover, Deodato and Airto do not perform together on the record. Airto opened for Deodato at the Felt Forum date from which the performances were taken, and although their tracks are both included on the LP, there is no crossover.

That said, I dig Deodato’s stuff from the period, and this is a great example thereof.

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

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.

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

 

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PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Brother Jack McDuff Quintet feat. David Newman – But It’s Alright

By , August 18, 2015 11:33 am

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Brother Jack McDuff and David Newman

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Listen/Download – Brother Jack McDuff Quintet feat. David Newman – But It’s Alright MP3

Greetings all.

I thought we’d get over the hump this week with some of that Hammond organ goodness bubbling up from my crates.

Brother Jack McDuff is one of the true greats of the classic era of soul jazz Hammond (mid-50s to early 70s). He is joined on today’s selection by legendary reedman David ‘Fathead’ Newman, with whom he recorded the 1968 LP ‘Double Barrelled Soul’.

Their version of JJ Jackson’s 1966 hit ‘But It’s Alright’ is – if not a complete deconstruction – a slightly avant garde approach to a familiar soul hit, with just enough edge to catch your ear, but not so much as to leave you shaking your head.

Opening with an odd organ fillagree, the fray is soon joined by the horn section, laying down an unusual, Thelonious Monk-esque riff, over which Brother Jack solos with confidence.

When the song starts out, it might take a new listener a second or two to wrap your ears around what’s going on, but once you do, there’s a funky drive shaft that keeps things moving forward.

While I wouldn’t go as far as to say that this enters Larry Young territory, there is some of that kind of thing at work here, which makes the record work as jazz, as well as a mod jazz groover.

I like it a lot, and I hope you do too.

See you all on Friday.

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.

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

 

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PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Grant Green – Ain’t It Funky Now Pts 1&2

By , July 26, 2015 12:05 pm

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Grant Green

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Listen/Download – Grant Green – Ain’t It Funky Now Pt1 MP3

Listen/Download – Grant Green – Ain’t It Funky Now Pt2 MP3

Greetings all.

I thought it would behoove us all to get the week started on one of those heavy (but not too heavy), funky, head-nodding grooves.

Grant Green, six-string ninja, old-school jazzer, new(er) school jazz funker was one of the true greats of the post-bop into soul jazz era and a mainstay of the Blue Note stable, as both leader and sideman.

His sounds have appeared here at Funky16Corners many times over the years, both in highlighted posts and as part of mixes.

Today’s selection is the two-part 45 version of Green’s cover of James Brown’s ‘Ain’t It Funky Now’ that appeared on his 1970 ‘Green Is Beautiful’ LP.

You already know that any Blue Note ish in this vein is going to be good, but there’s something exceptional about this track, that being the drums of the mighty Idris Muhammad.

This is not to say that Mr Green and the rest of the band aren’t in fine form (especially Claude Bartee working it out on what sounds like a Varitone sax), but that the drums are hitting hard and exceptionally funky, and doing so in an almost weirdly relaxed way.

Idris is deep in the groove, and managing to be supremely funky without doing anything flashy. The way he comes back in at around 1:00, and then drops a couple of bombs right before the guitar solo is a thing of beauty.

Emmanuel Riggins keeps things pumping along on the organ, and the percussion, by Candido (on the congas) and Richie Landrum (bongos) is spot on.

This is a very tasty 45, indeed, and I dare you to listen without starting to move.

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

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.

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

 

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PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Gene Ammons – Chicago Breakdown

By , July 23, 2015 3:09 pm

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Gene Ammons

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Listen/Download – Gene Ammons – Chicago Breakdown MP3

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here, and so then is the Funky16Corners Radio Show, which you can dial up each and every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio. If you cannot be there to dig it at airtime, you can subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, listen on your mobile device via the TuneIn app, or grab yourself an MP3 here at the blog.

With the weekend coming up, and the summer heat in the air, what better way to get your groove on than with some sublimely funky soul jazz.

The mighty Gene ‘Jug’ Ammons was not only a master of the genre, but also a second generation legend (his father was the boogie woogie virtuouso Albert Ammons).

Ammons worked as one of the preeminent soul jazz tenor men from 1952 to his untimely death at the age of 49 (from cancer) in 1974.

‘Chicago Breakdown’ was recorded for his 1971 Prestige LP ‘My Way’ with a gang of heavies that included Idris Muhammad on drums, Chuck Rainey on bass, Roland Hanna on electric piano and Ted Dunbar on guitar.

‘Chicago Breakdown’ is credited to the album’s producer/arranger Bill Fischer, and the band lays down a very nice, mid-tempo, but still heavy groove. The bass is especially thick, and Hanna’s keyboard adds flavor all the way through.

I’ll ask you to slap on your headphones and focus in at around :45, where Ammons starts to solo, and Dunbar’s guitar is comping in the deep background (it sounds like he’s across the room) and the interplay between the sax and rhythm guitar is something to behold.

This is as tasty a piece of funky jazz as you’re likely to find on 45, so go out and get you some.

I’ll see you 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.

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

 

Example Example

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Best of F16C – Les James Trio – Joe’s Thing

By , April 2, 2015 10:19 am

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The Les James Trio

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Listen/Download The Les James Trio – Joe’s Thing

Greetings all

The end of the week is here, and I should remind you all the the Funky16Corners Radio Show comes to you each and every Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio. If you cannot be there at airtime, you can always subscribe to the show as a podcast in iTunes, listen on your mobile device via the TuneIn app, or grab an MP3 out of the archive right here at the blog.

The fam and I are doing some Spring-breaking, so here’s something from the archives to keep you ears warm until Monday – Larry

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Originally posted November, 2012

I often find myself running out of steam by the end of the week.

You know how it is.

Truth be told, I have discovered that the remedy to such a lull is not – as might be expected – a solid and powerful boot in the ass,  but rather something subtly powerful.

Enough of a push to restore momentum, but nothing too sudden.

It is in furtherance of this idea that I have dipped into the crates and whipped out something that just might do the trick.

A while back, I was perusing the interwebs in search of some tasty vinyl to add to my record box, when I happened upon an auction for an unfamiliar, but very interesting looking record.

The disc in question was a mid-70s joint by a crew called the Les James Trio out of the Rocky Mountain metropolis of Denver, CO.

Now, I know that “Denver jazz’ doesn’t light any fire in your ears – unless you are a Paul Quinichette aficionado – but this auction came with a tantalizing soundclip.

So tantalizing in fact that I chased this record down like a lion after a juicy springbok, landed it and devoured it forthwith, if by “devour” it is meant to be understood as recording and digimatizing said record for the delectation of you good people.

There’s not much out there about Les James, other than a few links that suggest that he was something of a local institution in Denver, and the liner notes to the album which intimate that he might have hailed from Eastern Europe and made his way west, piano in tow.

The tune I bring you today – he one that made me covet the album so fiercely – is entitled ‘Joe’s Thing’, written by and named for James’ bassist Joe Lopez.

Much like the record that I brought you all on Monday, the things that happen on this record in regard to the alchemy of bass and drums is truly something to behold.

‘Joe’s Thing’ is in no way a “funk” record, but it is immediately obvious once the ones and zeros start to flow that is is monumentally funky, in a way guaranteed to make you sit up, notice, and groove, all at the same time.

Unlike so many self-released combos (Century was a famous “press your own”outfit out of California) the Les James Trio was actually a pretty tight unit. James was an excellent pianist, Lopez a shit-hot bassist and the drummer (listed only as Jo Jo) does his part admirably.

‘Joe’s Thing’ is a groover’s treasure because it starts out with a mighty riff, and then returns to the well a number of times, including a couple of phased drum breaks.

This is a banger – a subtle one – but a banger nonetheless.

You can send your thank you notes via the comments below.

You’re most welcome.

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.
Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

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PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

F16C Presents: Tarik Thornton – Scattered, Covered, Smothered and Diced

By , March 31, 2015 11:08 am

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Tarik Thornton – Scattered, Covered, Smothered and Diced

Ahmad Jamal – M*A*S*H Theme
Art Jerry Miller- Finger Lickin’ Good
Odell Brown & The Organizers – The Look Of Love
James Brown- Spinning Wheel
Lena Horne – Rocky Raccoon

Lonnie Smith- Move Your Hand- Part 1
Joe Williams & The Jazz Orchestra – Get Out My Life Woman
Brother Jack McDuff- Theme From The Electric Surfboard
Bobbi Humphrey- Harlem River Drive
Gene Ammons- Jungle Strut
Charlie Earland- Sing a Simple Song
Billy Cobham- Crosswind
Walter Wolfman Washington & Solar System – Good & Juicy
(Bonus Cut) Dejan’s Olympia Brass Band of New Orleans – Tuba Fats & Drums

Listen/Download – Tarik Thornton – Scattered, Covered, Smothered and Diced 46MB/Mixed MP3

 

Greetings all.

This is a very fortuitous week indeed, since thanks to a communique from my man Tarik Thornton (veteran of many Funky16Corners pledge drives and guest spots) we have the second brand new mix of the week!

If you have sunk your ears into any of his previous mixes, you know that Tarik has deep crates and excellent taste, and both are on display in ‘Scattered, Covered, Smothered and Diced’. Here you get just about 40 minutes of very tasty soul jazz and jazz funk, well mixed and served up hot.

I’m digging this one for the second time as I write this, and I think you’ll be giving it repeated plays as well.

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

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.

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

 

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PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Blue Mitchell – H.N.I.C. Pts 1&2

By , March 12, 2015 12:43 pm

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Blue Mitchell

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Listen/Download – Blue Mitchell – H.N.I.C. Pt2

 

Greetings all.

The end of the week is nigh, so I will remind you once again that the Funky16Corners Radio Show returns to the shimmering airwaves of the interwebs this and every Friday night on Viva Radio. If you cannot lend your ears at airtime, you can subscribe to the show as podcast in iTunes, listen on your mobile device through the TuneIn app, or grab yourself an MP3 here at the blog.

Closing out the week with something funky seemed like a good idea, so I bring you Blue Mitchell and ‘H.N.I.C. Pt1’.
Mitchell was, like the subject of Wednesday’s post, Yusef Lateef, a jazz veteran, coming up in hard bop with Cannonball Adderley and Horace Silver, and moving on to his own dates by the 1960s.

Like many of his ilk, Mitchell found himself at the end of the 1960s finding his way into a soulful bag. Many jazzers did this to varying levels of success, depending in large part on their affinity with and dedication to the material in question.

What is particularly interesting about today’s selection, is that it comes from a two-LP run that Mitchell had in 1968 and 1969 where he was working with Monk Higgins and Dee Ervin.

I haven’t been able to find out how this particular team came together, but the intersection of straight jazz with two figures closely identified with 60s soul is an interesting one.

The two albums, 1968s ‘Collision In Black’ and 1969s ‘Bantu Village’ (where this track originated) were composed almost entirely by Higgins and Ervin.. The dates appear to have been recorded in California, and are an interesting is somewhat mysterious chapter in Higgins’ and Ervin’s stories.

‘H.N.I.C. Pt1’ is also interesting because it is yet another iteration/variation of the Isley Brothers’ ‘It’s Your Thing’, a huge (and very influential) hit in 1969.

Featuring Mitchell and Bobby Bryant on trumpet, Paul Humphrey on drums, Wilton Felder on bass and Freddy Robinson on guitar, ‘H.N.I.C. Pt1’ manages to balance the jazz and funk nicely, with a fine solo by Mitchell.

I dig it (I need to score a copy of the LP), and I hope you do too.

See you 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.

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

 

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PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Yusef Lateef – Nubian Lady

By , March 10, 2015 11:58 am

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Yusef Lateef

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Greetings all.

How about we ease ourselves over the hump with some sweet, sublimely funky jazz?

Yusef Lateef is one of the giants of bop/post-bop eras of jazz, starting with Dizzy Gillespie in 1949 and playing well into his 80s, only passing away in 2013 at the age of 93.

He was a master of many wind instruments, mainly the tenor sax and the flute, but also on oboe and bassoon, as well as working a number of African and Eastern instruments into his music.

‘Nubian Lady’ was recorded in 1971 for his album ‘The Gentle Giant’, with Lateef on flute, Kenny Barron (who composed the song) on piano (with Ray Bryant on electric piano), and Albert Heath on drums among others.

It has a slow, mellow groove, but the drums manage to assert themselves nicely, giving the track a nice, funky feel.

Lateef’s flute states the main theme, and then returns to solo.

Y’all know I’m a huge fan of the flute in jazz and soul, and this is one of those records that you just want to kind of lay back and let it wash over you.

Listening to ‘Nubian Lady’ it sounds like the kind of record that must have been chopped and looped by someone, but as far as I can tell it has yet to be sampled.

It is a tasty groove indeed, and I hope you dig it.
See you on Friday.

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.

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

 

Example Example

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

The Loading Zone – Can I Dedicate

By , January 27, 2015 1:32 pm

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The Loading Zone

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Greetings all.

What better way to slide through the middle of the week than with some of that funky, head-nodding goodness?

I have made mention of the Loading Zone previously, in relation to the singing of its one-time vocalist Linda Tillery, aka Sweet Linda Divine.

The group formed in the mid-60s, then recruited Tillery, recording an album for RCA before the singer left to go solo.

The Loading Zone’s sound, if they can truly be said to have had one, was an odd mixture of soul, jazz and rock, which doesn’t sound all that complicated, but instead of blending the three strains into a single admixture, they kind of rode it like a sliding scale, moving from one sound to another.

That they did this in 1960s San Francisco (or just in the 60s) explains how they got signed to a major label.

Everybody was experimenting with stylistic blends, and where a band these days might be accused of aimlessness, in the earliest days of progressive (in the truest sense of the word) rock, this was the mark of versatility.

I’m of the school that leans toward the latter characterization, and sees it as a net positive. You have to remember that in 1967, rock was barely a decade old, yet in incubators like San Francisco, Los Angeles and London, (ostensibly) rock musicians were dipping into all kinds of sounds and redefining what that style meant.

There’s hardly a better example of this than the closing track from the Loading Zone LP, ‘Can I Dedicate’.

Sounding at times like Horace Silver and the Holding Company, ‘Can I Dedicate’ (later sampled by the Souls of Mischief for ‘Live and Let Live’) is a nine-plus minute exercise in jazzy, stoned funk. Listening to it today it sounds like something stitched together using soul jazz samples and looped drums, waiting for someone to drop a verse or two on top of it.

There are traces of hard bop, woven around a hypnotic, rolling bass line, tight drums, and the out of the blue, a Fillmore West-style guitar solo (followed, naturally, by a jazz trombone solo…).

It is heavy, wonderful stuff, and one of those tracks I find myself going back to a digging all the time.

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

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.

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

 

Example Example

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Best of F16C – Spindletop Early Set

By , January 18, 2015 1:49 pm

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Funky16Corners @ Spindletop – Early Set 1/10/11

Playlist

Cals – Stand Tall (Loadstone)
Jackie Hairston – Hijack (Atco)
JB & The V-Kings – Lazy Soul (Zap Zing!)
Bobby Cook and the Explosions – On the Way (Compose)
Ulysses Crockett – Major Funky (Transverse)
Three Souls – Chittlins Con Carne (Argo)
Prime Mates – Hot Tamales Pt1 (Sansu)
Fuzzy Kane Trio – Monday Monday (Bay Sound)
Roy Budd – Get Carter (Pye)
Mary Lou Williams – The Credo (Mary)
Mel Brown – Ode to Billie Joe (Impulse)
Jr Walker & the All Stars – Cleo’s Mood (Soul)
The Rhine Oaks – Tampin’ (Atco)
Dorothy Ashby – Soul Vibrations (Cadet)
Johnny Lytle – Screaming Loud (Tuba)

Listen/Download 80MB/256kb Mixed MP3

 

NOTE: Since my unexpected hospital captivity continues unabated, I thought I’d dip into the archives to hold you all until I could get myself back to the Funky16Corners Blogcasting Nerve Center and Record Vault.

So dig this mellow mix from 2011 and I’ll be back as soon as I can.

Keep the Faith

Larry

Greetings all.

The mix I bring you today is yet another live set from the archives, recorded at Botanica in NYC back in 2011.

This one was an early set, where I was allowed to indulge my taste for some low-to-mid-tempo soul jazz and moody soul instrumentals.

This is another late night groover, so pull down the ones and zeros and let it fly while you’re in a mellow mood.

I’ll be back on Friday with something new.

Keep the faith

Larry

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OAlso, 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.

Also, make sure that you check out the links below to the Be The Match Foundation and POAC (click on the logos for more info).

 

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PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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