Comments (1)

By Larry, July 23, 2015 3:09 pm

Gene Ammons

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

_________________________________________________________________________________________

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).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (0)

By Larry, March 31, 2015 11:08 am

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

_________________________________________________________________________________________

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).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Comments (3)

By Larry, June 5, 2014 11:51 am

Funky16Corners Presents: Walking In Space

Quincy Jones – Walking In Space (A&M)
Wes Montgomery – Up and At It (A&M)
Deodato – September 13 (CTI)
Lonnie Smith – Stand (Edit) (Kudu)
Grover Washington Jr – Masterpiece (Kudu)
Gabor Szabo – Rambler (CTI)
Johnny Hammond Smith – Big Sur Suite (Kudu)
Milt Jackson – People Make the World Go Round (CTI)
Bob James – Nautilus (CTI)

Listen/Download Funky16Corners Presents: Walking In Space

NOTE: This – the first of two mixes I put together for this year’s Allnighter is a tribute to the sounds that Creed Taylor produced (usually engineered by Rudy Van Gelder) for A&M, CTI and Kudu in the late 60s and 70s. 

I’m a huge fan of the entire CTI aesthetic, from the amazing sounds (listen to the drums, brass and strings)  to the classic album covers. It’s no mystery why so much of the CTI catalog has been sampled over the years, and many of those sample sources are in this mix.

This one was a real labor of love, and I’ve given it a grip of listens since I recorded it.

I hope you dig it, too.

See you on Monday with a new mix from Kris Holmes!

– Larry

Greetings all

Welcome to the 2014 edition of the Funky16Corners Allnighter/Pledge Drive.

This is the ninth annual Pledge Drive, and the fifth Allnighter.

If you haven’t experienced the Allnighter/Pledge Drive, it can be explained as thus: once a year, the Funky16Corners Blog, your home for the best in funk, soul, jazz and rare groove vinyl for almost 10 years comes to you with hand outstretched, asking for donations to offset the operating expenses of the web site.

The Funky16Corners ‘operation’ (as it is) included the Funky16Corners and Iron Leg blogs, the mix archives for both (containing well over 200 mixes), and the Funky16Corners Radio Show/Podcast (another 200+ files available for download, or through subscription in iTunes).

The money raised during the pledge drive goes to pay for the server space and fees associated with hosting the whole megillah.

As has been attested to many times in the past, Funky16Corners has humble beginnings, starting out on the old (free) Blogger service, moving to WordPress, and then to self-hosted WordPress. The move to paid hosting was necessitated by increased bandwidth usage, as well as the need for a place to store all the mixes (and eventually the radio show episodes).

The Allnighter/Pledge Drive is a once-yearly occurrence, in which yours truly, and some of the finest selectors out there whip up new mixes for your delectation.

In past years, I have posted all of the mixes in a single post, and left it up for a week.

This year, the quality and quantity of the mixes spurred me on to try something a little different, i.e. posting a new mix each weekday for a period of just over two weeks. This way, each selector gets their moment in the spotlight, and the mixes get spaced out so that the listeners don’t suffer from mix-fatigue.

Each day, you’ll get a fantastic mix (there really are some amazing ones this year) from one of my favorite DJs, most of whom have participated in the Allnighter before, as well as a great new contributor.

So, if you dig what we do here at Funky16Corners, click on the Paypal link and toss some cash into the barrel.

Contributors will receive a 2014 Allnighter badge (see below), as well as some stickers from the archive (as long as they last).

This year I will also be drawing the names of contributors at random for groovy swag, including CDs and 45s from Cultures of Soul and LugnutBrand Records, and CDs from Light in the Attic and Secret Stash.

So, dig the sounds for the next couple of weeks, and make sure you stop back on a daily basis to pick up new mixes and contribute for a chance to win some cool stuff.

Thanks, and as always,

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.

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).

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.