Comments (2)

By Larry, January 24, 2012 2:04 pm

Fania All Stars

Listen/Download -Fania All Stars – Viva Tirado

Greetings all.

I hope all is well in your part of the universe, and that you all had a chance to dig the Etta James goodness from the first part of the week.

The term gets overused, but Miss Etta was a giant, and unfortunately one that never really got her due.

How much of this had to do with a comparable lack of crossover success, and how much to her drug troubles (though the halls of fame are littered with junkies, ex and otherwise) I can’t say for sure, but she certainly deserved to be up there with the best.

The tune I bring you today is something groovy I picked up a while ago, always dug, but had no idea of its, how do they say, hidden charms until recently.

You already know that I dig me some Latin soul and boogaloo, and as a result I am am incapable of passing up an interesting looking Fania or Allegre 45 when I see it in the field.

It was that very formula – with the addition of an interesting cover version – that made me grab ‘Viva Tirado’ by the Fania All Stars.

The song ‘Viva Tirado’, written in the 1960s by West Coast orchestra leader/arranger Gerald Wilson in tribute to bullfighter Jose Ramon Tirado and then taken into the Top 40 by El Chicano in 1970 (and covered many times) is an acknowledged classic of Latin jazz.

When I saw that it had been covered by the Fania All Stars I knew I had to grab it.

They recorded it for the 1974 album ‘Latin – Soul – Rock’ and their version doesn’t stray too far from the source material.

Now, I always knew that the Fania All Stars included heavies like Ray Barretto, Johnny Pacheco, Larry Harlow and Willie Colon.

What I didn’t know is that when they went into the studio to record this album, they brought some equally heavy friends with them, two of whom, Manu Dibango on sax and Jan Hammer on Hammond organ, take solos on this version of ‘Viva Tirado’.

Very groovy indeed!

So dig the 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 (2)

By Larry, January 19, 2012 2:42 pm

Listen/Download -Jimmy Castor Bunch – Prelude/It’s Just Begun

Listen/Download -Jimmy Castor Bunch – LTD (Life Truth & Death)

Greetings all.

I hope that you’re all still with us following the black-out yesterday, and that you took the time to educate yourselves on the importance of a SOPA/PIPA blackout.

If something like that gets written into law, the days of music blogs (as you know them) let alone the vast majority of what you read/enjoy on the internet will be over.

Also, a while back someone in Canada sent a request for a Funky16Corners sticker, and the envelope got lost in the maelstrom of our house. Please resend the request and I’ll send the sticker along with something extra.

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This has been an especially tiring and emotionally draining week.

Things on the health front are status quo, and remain optimistic.

It’s just that the cumulative effects of what has been a radical change/redirection in our lives is always daunting and sometimes, especially when physical and emotional fatigue start to catch up with you, difficult to deal with, at least as the future is concerned.

We are extraordinarily lucky that we have family and friends that we can depend on in times of crisis.

If we did not, an already difficult time would be a logistical nightmare.

If you know someone that is dealing with cancer, or any other major health crisis, take the time to extend your hand, whether it involves offering a ride somewhere, or watching the kids for a day, or even cooking a meal.

Every act of kindness makes a difference.

As I said, we are very, very lucky. Not everyone is as fortunate.

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That said, speaking strictly in the realm of soul and funk, this has been another really bad week, with the passing of not only Jimmy Castor (to whom we pay tribute today) but also the legendary Johnny Otis (on whom I have a post planned for Monday).

I know that I just put up the Benny Gordon post this morning, but I didn’t want to wait to put up some Jimmy Castor, so here you go.

Jimmy Castor had one of the most interesting careers in soul and funk, having started in doo-wop (he went to school with Frankie Lymon and later replaced him in the teenagers), moved on to Latin soul and boogaloo and then on to funk and disco in the 70s.

I first heard Jimmy Castor when I was but a wee lad of 10, when my next-door neighbor (oddly, also named Larry) and I thought that ‘Troglodyte’ was the funniest thing we’d ever heard. There was something about the name “Bertha Butt” that had us rolling on the floor.

It was years later when I got into soul that I heard ‘Hey Leroy, Your Mama’s Callin’ You’ and ‘Ham Hocks Espanol’*, but I had no idea how deep a cat Jimmy Castor was until a few years ago.

The fam and I were down in DC doing our tourist thang and I managed to snap off a few minutes of time to dig for vinyl.

I stopped into my favorite DC wax repository, Som Records, and while I was browsing the stock, my man Neal (the proprietor) whipped a record on the in-store turntable and in the course of a few short minutes I was all “What’s that?” and discovered that the sounds that were blowing my mind were none other than those you see before you today.

I knew of ‘It’s Just Begun’ as a heavily sampled classic, but never actually got around to picking myself up a copy of the record. In that I was undoubtedly remiss, and the situation was remedied forthwith.

If all you ever heard before was ‘Troglodyte’ or even ‘Hey Leroy’, which in its own way was a solid dose of comedy, the sophisticated orchestral opening to the LP version of ‘It’s Just Begun’, or the stylistic mix of ‘LTD’ could come as quite a surprise.

The LP “It’s Just Begun’ shows that Castor was much deeper than any novelty might indicate.

Where he started with a base of solid, early-70s funk, your also getting bits of Hendrixian psychedelia, and a rocked up take on his earlier Latin sounds.

Castor went on to place a number of records into the R&B (and occasionally pop) charts well into the 80s.
He will be missed.

I hope you dig the tunes, and make sure you check out the Funky16Corners Radio Show, Friday night at 9PM on Viva Radio, or pick up the MP3 here at the blog over the weekend.

Peace

Larry

*If mid-60s boogaloo is your bag, make sure you check out Castor’s Smash records material, which is excellent.

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, December 22, 2011 3:25 pm

Harvey Averne

Listen / Download – Harvey Averne Band – Let’s Get It Together This Christmas

Greetings all.

I’ve been dropping Christmas funk and soul all week, and when I got home today from running my various and sundry holiday and hospital-related errands it occurred to me that I had yet to repost this most excellent tune, and since I didn’t have a fifth cut ready to go, why not grab the old HTML, add a little contemporary verbiage and let fly.

So, here it is.

I should remind you once again that we have a very special Funky16Corners Radio Show Christmas Special dropping tomorrow (Friday) at 9PM on Viva Radio, and popping up in this very space as an MP3 on Christmas Eve, just in time  to fire it up while you’re torching the Yule log at home.

I will not be posting again until next week, so if you’re in the midst of Hannukah, or anticipating Christmas, or just chilling awash in the wonder of the season(s), our best to you and yours.

Peace

Larry

Originally posted 12/21/10

>>Christmas week has finally arrived, and so, as is the custom, have some funky and soulful holiday 45s.

I managed to get in a nice dig/hang this weekend down at the world famous Asbury Lanes where I managed to grab some excellent records (both the 45 and LP varieties) and meet up with some of my old mod scene compadres (Mr Luther and Mick) as well as AP45 Sessions’ very own DJ Prime Mundo. It was a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

I’ve made mention of the fact that I have never been a big collector of holiday music, Don’t get me wrong – I dig the jingle bells and the ho ho ho and what not – but with rare exception (generally the records that I feature here around Christmas time) I don’t go out of my way to add this kind of stuff to my record box.

Occasionally – as is the case with the Soulful Strings Christmas LP – such a record dovetails nicely with an existing obsession. Sometimes, as was the case with Clarence Carter’s ‘Backdoor Santa’, we might be talking about a record that kicks ass solidly despite the fact that it’s aimed at a Yuletide audience.

This week I’ll be bringing you two great holiday selections (Monday and Wednesday) and then taking the rest of the week off to enjoy the holiday with the fam.

I wouldn’t leave you hanging though, so make sure you tune into the Funky16Corners Radio Show this Friday at 9PM, Christmas Eve for the first annual Funky16Corners Radio Christmas Special, for an hour of the coolest funk and soul sounds for the holiday. You’ll hear the Soulful Strings, Clarence Carter, James Brown and many, many more.

The tune I bring you today is nice but of funky Latin soul by the mighty Harvey Averne.

Averne was – like his bandmate and fellow Latin music legend Larry Harlow – a non-Hispanic (both men were Jewish) who played a big role in the history of the storied Fania label.

Averne, a vibraphonist, got his start under the name Arvito and his Latin Orchestra, playing during the 50s mambo craze, eventually taking over a band that included Harlow on piano.

He had a great deal of success as a musician (and in the construction business) but had probably his most important role as the mad behind the day to day operations of Fania.

Hired by label owner Jerry Masucci, Averne worked at Fania as musician, producer (of Ray Barretto’s ‘Acid’ LP among many other classics) and A&R man.

Oddly enough, his first record, among them the boogaloo classics ‘The Micro Mini’ and ‘You’re No Good’ were released on the Atlantic label, with Averne eventually having a bunch if stuff released on Fania and its Uptite subsidiary.

The tune I bring you today ‘Let’s Get It Together This Christmas’ is a funky mover, with the punchy bass, the jingling jingle bells, and an upbeat message for the season.

I haven’t been able to nail down a release date, but the catalog number would suggest something in the area of 1969 or 1970.

The flip side is a an otherwise groovy version of ‘The Christmas Song’, marred by the ‘contributions’ of a barking dog (who gets credit on the label!).

‘Let’s Get It Together This Christmas’ was also included on the excellent ‘In The Christmas Groove’ comp.

I hope you dig the tune.<<

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

Comments (11)

By Larry, November 24, 2011 2:20 pm

Mmmmmmmm!

Greetings all!

This is an impromptu post, spurred on by the spirit of Thanksgiving, in which the holiday and the word take on extra special meaning.

I am thankful first and foremost that we are lucky enough to have my wife home with us for the holiday. I brought her home from the hospital this morning.

Hopefully being home and around her family will help make her stronger during her recovery.

Second, I’m thankful that I have this outlet to share my love of music with all of you.

I’m reposting the three food-related mixes I’ve done here over the years so that while you’re stuffing your gobs with gobbler, you can also stuff your ears with soul.

What you get here are the first two Soul Food mixes, as well as F16C Radio v.60 which is mostly chicken-themed, but ends in a flourish with the Niteliters ‘Serenade to a Jive Turkey’.

I hope you dig the sounds, and that you all have an excellent Thanksgiving weekend,

See you on Monday.

Peace

Larry

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Funky16Corners Radio v.3 – Soul Food (That’s What I Like) Pt1

Track listing

Brother Jack McDuff – Hot Barbecue (Prestige)

 Soul Runners – Chittlin’ Salad Pt1 (MoSoul)

Lionel Hampton – Greasy Greens (GladHamp)

Albert Collins – Cookin’ Catfish (20th Century)

Andre Williams – Rib Tips (Avin)

Maurice Simon & The Pie Men – Sweet Potato Gravy (Carnival)

Mel Brown – Chicken Fat (Impulse)

Lonnie Youngblood – Soul Food (That’s What I Like) (Fairmount)

Prime Mates – Hot Tamales (Sansu)

Just Brothers – Sliced Tomatoes (Music Merchant)

Leon Haywood – Cornbread and Buttermilk (Decca)

Bobby Rush – Chicken Heads (Galaxy)

Booker T & The MGs – Jelly Bread (Stax)

Gentleman June Gardner – Mustard Greens (Blue Rock)

West Siders – Candy Yams (Infinity)

Hank Jacobs – Monkey Hips and Rice (Sue)

George Semper – Collard Greens (Imperial)

Billy Clark & His Orchestra – Hot Gravy (Dynamo)

Listen Download Mixed MP3

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Funky16Corners Radio v.9 – Soul Food Pt2

Playlist

1. Simtec Simmons – Tea Box (Maurci)

2. Johnny Barfield & The Men of S.O.U.L. – Soul Butter (SSS Intl)

3. Ronnie Woods – Sugar Pt2 (Everest)

4. Stan Hunter & Sonny Fortune – Corn Flakes (Prestige)

5. Fabulous Counts – Scrambled Eggs (Moira)

6. Watts 103rd St Rhythm Band – Spreadin Honey (Keymen)

7. Freddie Roach – Brown Sugar (Blue Note)

8. Albert Collins – Sno Cone Pt1 (TCF Hall)

9. Chuck Edwards – Chuck Roast (Rene)

10. Willie Mitchell – Mashed Potatoes (Hi)

11. Booker T & The MGs – Red Beans & Rice (Atlantic)

12. Righteous Brothers Band – Green Onions (Verve)

13. George Semper – Hog Maws & Collard Greens (Imperial)

14. Lee Dorsey – Candy Yam (Amy)

15. Roosevelt Fountain & his Pens of Rhythm – Red Pepper Pt1 (Prince Adams)

16. Bad Boys – Black Olives (Paula)

17. Willie Bobo – Spanish Grease (Verve)

18. American Group – Enchilada Soul (AGP)

DOWNLOAD – 39.3 MB Mixed MP3

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Funky16Corners Radio v.60 – Finger Lickin’ Good!

Funky16Corners Radio v.60 – Finger Lickin’ Good!

Playlist

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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, October 27, 2011 1:52 pm

The cover (above) The Banana Splits (below)

Listen/Download – Cal Tjader – The Tra La La Song

Greetings all, and join me as we wind up another week on the good ship Funky16Corners.

Since it is almost Friday, I must remind you all that the Funky16Corners Radio Show returns to the airwaves of the interwebs this and every Friday night at 9PM at Viva Radio.

This week features some very groovy stuff, as well as a nice little Halloween set for those in need something spooky and soulful. Keep in mind that if you are unable to join us at the time of broadcast, you can always stop by over the weekend and pick yourself up an MP3 of the show which you can listen to at your leisure.

Earlier this year I posted Cal Tjader’s version of ‘Gimme Shelter’ and told the story of how the old Funky16Cornersmobile got towed away while I was at a record show.

While discussing the song in the comments, I mentioned that Tjader had also covered the theme from the old ‘Banana Splits Show’ and promised to post it in the future.

Well, at the risk of sounding like Criswell, the future is now!

Unless you’re over 45, or some kind of hardcore pop-cult nut, you probably have no idea who the Banana Splits were, which was, a costumed quartet of people in animal costumes (dog, lion, gorilla and elephant) who lived together in a psychedelic clubhouse and had a band (sounds like a hallucination, right?).

Though most of (not all, most) the music associated with the show was disposable, bubblegummy pop, the one tune that everyone who ever saw it (or has heard Bob Marley and the Wailers ‘Buffalo Soldier’) remembers is the theme, otherwise known as the ‘Tra La La Song’.

Oddly enough, the song has had quite the little history of its own, being covered (and hitting the UK Top 10 in 1979) in a version by the Dickies, the aforementioned borrowing by Tuff Gong, and a later cover by Liz Phair and Material Issue.

A few years back I saw an ad for a reissue of a Cal Tjader album that I’d never seen before called ‘Plugs In’, which appeared to contain a cover of the ‘Tra La La Song’. Naturally, as big a Tjader fan as I am I found this hard to believe and figured it was either a misprint, an outtake or another song entirely.

That is until I scored myself a copy of the album when I was down in DC last year when the bizarre but tasty intersection of Mr. Callen Radcliffe Tjader Jr. and Fleagle, Bingo, Drooper and Snork was confirmed.

Recorded live at the Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach, California in 1969, ‘Plugs In’ featured Tjader with an electrified band. The addition of Al Zulaica on electric piano and Armando Peraza (who also recorded for Skye) on congas makes for a sound reminiscent of Vince Guaraldi’s later ‘Charlie Brown’ soundtracks.

Tjader takes the ‘Tra La La’ song at a relaxed and groovy pace that the actual Banana Splits never would have been able to achieve without chemical assistance.

It is a mellow cut indeed, and I hope you dig it.

See you on Monday.

Peace

Larry

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

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

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (6)

By Larry, September 27, 2011 10:10 am

The Originator: Babatunde Olatunji

Carlos Santana, wailing at Woodstock

Candido Camero on the congas…

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

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

Listen/Download – Candido – Jingo

Greetings all.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Peace

Larry

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

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

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

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

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.