Cosimo Matassa: The Master

By , September 14, 2014 12:47 pm

Example

Cosimo Matassa 1926-2014

Willie Harper – But I Couldn’t (ALON)
Willie West – Hello Mama (Deesu)
Tim Whitsett and the Imperials – Monkey Man (Ace)
The Stokes – Young Man Old Man (ALON)
The Stokes – Whipped Cream (ALON)
Warren Lee – Star Revue (Deesu)
Eddie Lang – Something Withing Me (Seven B)
Oliver Morgan – Roll Call (Seven B)
G. Davis & R. Tyler – Hold On Help Is On the Way (Par-Lo)
Eddie Bo – Fence of Love (Seven B)
Guitar Ray – Patty Cake Shake (Hot Line)
James Rivers – Tighten Up (Eight Ball)
Lee Circle – Other Delights (ALON)
Robert Parker – In the Midnight Hour (NOLA)
Roger and the Gypsies – Pass the Hatchet Pts1&2 (Seven B)
Bobby Powell – Why Am I Treated So Bad (Whit)
Art Neville – Hook, Line and Sinker (Instant)
Chris Kenner – Fumigate Funky Broadway (Instant)
Skip Easterling – Keep the Fire Burning (ALON)
Willie West – Did You Have Fun (Deesu)
Eddie Bo – Skate It Out (Seven B)
Curley Moore – Soul Train (Hot Line)

Listen/Download The Master: A Cosimo Matassa Sampler

Greetings all

I hope the new week finds you well.

It was at the end of last week that news came down that the legendary Cosimo Matassa had slipped the surly bonds of earth at the age of 88.

If you are not familiar with the name, if you are a regular here at the Corners, you are most certainly hip to the sounds that he helped bring into the world.

Matassa was, from the early 1950s, the recording/mastering engineer of record for most (not much, MOST) of the music – rock’n’roll, R&B, soul and funk – laid down in the Crescent City, as well as  a label owner and record distributor.

I won’t go into much detail here, because the extremely long and complicated story has already been told (and is still being added to) at the mighty Cosimo Code website by cats like Davie Gordon, Red Kelly, John BrovenJohn ‘Sir Shambling’ Ridley and Peter Gibbon.

There, they have endeavored to compile a list of recordings recorded, or mastered by Matassa, using his unique coding system.

Your next stop should be the Cosimo Code site, where anyone with even a passing interest in New Orleans music could get lost for hours.

When I heard that Cosimo had passed, I went back through the chronological lists at Cosimo Code and started pulling recordings out of my own archive as I saw them on the list, so that I could put together a representative (though hardly comprehensive) sampling of the records he helped birth.

These are exclusively 1960s recordings (mostly 1965-1967) with a couple of surprises (as in, I was surprised to see them on the list) and a few unusual things you might not normally find here at Funky16Corners. There’s a just a touch over an hour of solid 45s (and one LP track).

So, click on the link, give the old ones and zeros a spin, and head on over to the Cosimo Code and try to digest the mind-boggling breadth of Mr Matassa’s portfolio.

Condolences to those that knew him, and props to the CC crew for their amazing work.

Keep the faith

Larry

Example  

 

 

_________________________________________________________________________________________

 

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.

2 Responses to “Cosimo Matassa: The Master”

  1. ingmar66 says:

    You are once again on point in calling him The Master. May he rest in peace. What a career, what a lot of great records! Thanks for this wonderful mix, Larry!

  2. Kris Holmes says:

    killer selections, was thinking of putting together one of my own actually.

Leave a Reply

New Comment Capcha System = Simple Math! * Time limit is exhausted. Please reload CAPTCHA.

Panorama Theme by Themocracy