Posts tagged: Jazz

Little Richie Varola – Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf

By , April 14, 2019 9:13 am

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Little Richie Varola

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Listen/Download – Little Richie Varola – Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf MP3

Greetings all.

Today’s feature is one of my all time favorite, obscure Hammond organ burners.

Little Richie Varola did almost all of his recorded work – save the album you see above – as the organist for Louis Prima.

Born in central Pennsylvania (what was in the water in PA that produced so many Hammond players?), Varola joined up with Prima in the 1960s after a starting up playing in the lounges of Atlantic City and Las Vegas.

He was a keyboard prodigy, capable of lightning-fast speed and showmanship.

He recorded his sole LP as a solo artist in 1968 for the Verve label, backed by Sam Butera and the Witnesses.

The album was a combination of popular organ features like ‘Walk On the Wild Side’ and today’s selection ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf’, standards and contemporary pop like Tom Jones’s ‘It’s Not Unusual’.

‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf’ was first recorded by Jimmy Smith in 1964 and quickly became something of a Hammond standard, being recorded by James Brown, Graham Bond, the Dynamics, The Pieces of Eight and even the Buckinghams.

Varola’s version of ‘Who’s Afraid…’ starts out with a quote from the James Bond theme, storming into a 100MPH version of the song with unbelievable keyboard work by Varola.

His speed and precision on the Hammond is remarkable and it’s not hard to see why Butera recruited him for Prima’s band.

Varola played on a couple of Louis Prima albums before leaving the group in 1972.

He was apparently working toward a jazz-rock fusion sound when he was killed in a car accident in 1974 at the age of 30.

I can only imagine what he might have been capable of musically had he lived.

As far as I can tell his album has never been reissued, so if you dig the sound you’ll have to find yourself an original copy.

I hope you dig the sounds 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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Joe Johnson Trio – Son of Ice Bag

By , January 20, 2019 2:16 pm

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Joe Johnson and his Hammond

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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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Lionel Hampton – Funky Chicken

By , December 2, 2018 11:55 am

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Lionel Hampton

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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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F16C Summer of Soul Pt10 – HeavySoulBrutha Dave B – Street Jazz!

By , August 19, 2018 1:48 pm

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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!

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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!

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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!. <

Walter Wanderley – Kee-Ka-Roo

By , February 18, 2018 12:00 pm

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Walter Wanderley

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Listen/Download – Walter Wanderley – Kee-Ka-Roo MP3

Greetings all.

Welcome back to the Funky16Corners thing for another week of musical wonderfulness.

The track I bring you today is a long (loooong) time fave, introduced (and initially gifted) to me by my buddy Haim.

Haim used to turn me on to all kinds of cool music, and one day he played Walter Wanderley’s ‘Kee-Ka-Roo’ for me and just about blew my mind.

You all know that I’m a certified Hammond nut, and while I knew of Wanderley (already owning a couple of his boss nova LPs) I had no idea he had anything like this in his arsenal.

Wanderley was a Brazilian organist who had a significant recording/playing career in his native country before hitting the charts in 1967 with ‘Summer Samba’, which became one of the best known/most popular ‘easy’ instrumentals of the 1960s (which would gain ever more reknown via the vocal version he recorded with Astrud Gilberto under the title ‘So Nice’).

‘Kee-Ka-Roo’ originated on his 1967 album of the same name.

Where ‘Summer Samba’ was all smooth bossa jazz, ‘Kee-Ka-Roo’ is a swinging slice of Brazil-au-go-go, mixing sharp, hard-hitting drums with cuica, and guitar.

It sounds like it was custom made for a discotheque scene in a period film.

The band on ‘Kee-Ka-Roo’ is amix of Brazilian and American players (including Bobby Rosengarden who laid down some similarly cool drums on a number of Enoch Light-related things).

It makes me wish that Wanderley had done some more music in this vein.

I dig it a lot and I hope you do too.

Until next time,

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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Mose Allison 1927 – 2016

By , November 20, 2016 10:38 am

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Mose Allison, chilling in his far out chair, in the woods…

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Listen/Download – Mose Allison – The Seventh Son

Listen/Download Mose Allison – Young Man (Blues)

Listen/Download Mose Allison – I’m Not Talking

Listen/Download – Mose Allison – Baby Please Don’t Go

Listen/Download – Mose Allison – I Love the Life I Live 

Listen/Download – Mose Allison – Your Mind Is On Vacation

 

Greetings all

 

This is a repost/augmentation of a post I wrote back in 2013. Last week was an especially heavy one for music lovers, with the loss of Leonard Cohen, Leon Russell, Billy Miller of Norton Records and lastly (but never leastly) the mighty Mose Allison.

Mose was 89 years old and had only recently given up playing live.

He was one of my all time favorites, a foundational artist in my sensibility and an absolute master.

I’m adding a couple of other Mose classics to the links below.

If you know, dig. If you do not get familiar.

I’ll see you on Wednesday – L

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Have you heard about Mose?

Allison, that is…aka the Sage of Tippo…aka the smoothest badass to ever prop himself up at a piano and lay it down.

If you – like me – has made a study of the roots of rock, especially the British Invasion, or just surveyed the history of coolness, then you have certainly crossed paths with the mighty Mose.

Mose Allison has the kind of voice/manner that immediately brings to mind the black-and-white, beatnik cool of the 1950s. Jack Kerouac’s America, in which one was free to roam the highways and back roads of this great country, partaking in, and becoming part of the great tableaux, digging and being dug in equal measures.

Mose Allison – born and raised in Mississippi – sat himself down at the piano and made his first record in 1957, and hasn’t stopped being one of the coolest of cats since then.

I don’t think I heard Mose until I was all but drowning in the British beat/R&B thing, up to and including the sounds of Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames, which is important because if Mose Allison had never recorded a note, old Clive Powell would likely disappear from the face of the earth.

The first time I heard Mose, an overloaded socket in theback of my brain threw sparks and I realized how much Georgie idolized and emulated him, as well as all of the Brits who looked to him as a songwriter and interpreter of songs.

It was Mose that wrote ‘Parchman Farm’ (John Mayall and everyone else with a blues fetish), ‘Young Man Blues’ (the Who) and ‘I’m Not Talking’ (the Yardbirds) among many others, and laid down what I would consider to be the definitive interpretation of Willie Dixon’s ‘Seventh Son’.

I’m including the last three tunes here today, so that you might head out and dig for your own stack of Mose Allison records, that you can whip out and impress the ladies at your next soiree.

Both ‘Young Man Blues’ and ‘The Seventh Son’ hail from Allison’s landmark 1963 ‘Mose Allison Sings’ LP for Prestige.

‘Young Man Blues’ – clocking in at less than a minute and a half – is a laid back meditation, barely a whisper compared to the angry box of TNT that the Who detonated on ‘Live at Leeds’.

Mose’s take on ‘The Seventh Son’ is a masterpiece of relaxed, swinging Zen, every note perfectly placed, a wonder. He takes the Mississippi hoodoo boasts of the OG and delivers them in a matter-of-fact way that puts the text in boldface.

‘I’m Not Talking’, from 1964’s ‘The Word From Mose’ on Atlantic, is once again, the placid, almost dehumidified-it’s-so-dry foundation on which the mighty Yardbirds built a souped-up, nitro-fueled funny car with which they blew the doors off of the ‘For Your Love’ album in 1965.

The grooviest thing of all is that for all of the influence he pushed out, Mose himself was always more like a shadow, hanging back, just being, than anyone who took their marching orders from his records. He spent the last 50-plus years making music of high quality, crossing the border back and forth between the blues and jazz, always being more himself than anything else and that was all he ever needed to be.

If you’re not hip to Mose, get there.

That is all.

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.

Bobby Hutcherson 1941 – 2016

By , August 16, 2016 12:36 pm

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Bobby Hutcherson

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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.


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Funky16Corners Radio v.79 – Positive Vibrations!

Playlist

Lionel Hampton – Greasy Greens (Glad Hamp)
Jack Wilson feat Roy Ayers – Sidewinder (Vault)
Freddie McCoy – Peas and Rice (Prestige)
Jack Brokensha and the Baroqe-a-delics – Boogaloo (Contrast)
Bobby Hutcherson – Goin’ Down South (Blue Note)
Cal Tjader – Ode to Billie Joe (Skye)
Ulysses Crockett – Sunshine Superman (Transverse)
Gary Burton – Leroy the Magician (Atlantic)
Milt Jackson – People Make the World Go Round (CTI)
Bobby Christian – Mooganga (Ovation)
Johnny Lytle – Above the Clouds (SS)
Lionel Hampton- Them Changes (Brunswick)
Freddie McCoy – Beans’n’Greens (Prestige)
Soulful Strings feat Billy Wooten – One Night Affair (Cadet)
Cal Tjader – Soul Sauce (Verve)

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If you get the chance, look for any of Hutcherson’s Blue Note albums, but especially ‘Patterns’, which was recorded in 1968 but shelved (inexplicably) until the 80s. It is by far my favorite Hutcherson album, and featured the underrated/underrecorded reedman James Spaulding as well.

Hutcherson was a giant, and he will be missed.

See you all on Friday.

Keep the faith

Larry

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PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Funky16Corners Presents: Revolving In Soul

By , August 7, 2016 11:51 am

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Junior Parker – Taxman (Capitol)
Jackie Wilson – Eleanor Rigby (Brunswick)
Don Randi Trio – Love You To (Reprise)
Gary McFarland – Here There and Everywhere (Skye)
London Jazz 4 – Yellow Submarine (Polydor)
Don Randi Trio – She Said She Said (Reprise)
Linda Divine – Good Day Sunshine (Columbia)
Maceo and All the Kings Men – For No One (Excello)
Don Randi Trio – I Want To Tell You (Reprise)
Chris Clark – Got To Get You Into My Live (Motown)
Junior Parker – Tomorrow Never Knows (Capitol)

Pictured: Jackie Wilson, Junior Parker, Linda Divine and Maceo Parker

Listen/Download – Funky16Corners Presents: Revolving In Soul 54MB Mixed MP3

NOTE: The always excellent Any Major Dude With Half a Heart blog did a similar (though more stylistically all-encompassing) mix that you should definitely check out. There’s some crossover, but I think you’ll dig both mixes – Larry

Greetings all.

I was puttering around in the Funky16Corners Blogcasting Nerve Center and Record Vault the other day and some friends brought it to my attention that the 50th anniversary of the release of the Beatles epic ‘Revolver’ LP – one of the most important and paradigm-shifting albums of the 60s – was upon us.

Naturally, having devoted several mixes to the songs of the Beatles (as covered by soul, funk and jazz artists) I had to see if I could put together a mix of covers that approximated the track listing and running order of the original.

I had to cheat a little bit (what you see here matches the track listing of the US issue of the album, i.e. the one I grew up with, but not the longer/more interesting UK issue, which you see on CD reissues of ‘Revolver’) and the running time is almost the same (with the mix running about two minutes over).

That is due to the fact that there aren’t many covers of material from the UK album that fit inside the (admittedly broad) stylistic brackets I mentioned above. There are a grip of soul/funk covers of songs like Eleanor Rigby, but none at all of ‘I’m Only Sleeping’, ‘And Your Bird Can Sing’ or ‘Doctor Robert’.

That said, I did have bunch of cool things on hand.

The saving grace was Don Randi’s 1966 ‘Revolver Jazz’ LP, contributing no less than three tracks to the mix, the swinging version of ‘Yellow Submarine’ by the London Jazz 4 (good luck finding a version of that song that isn’t meant for kids or played for comedy), and Maceo Parker’s stunning and wholly unexpected version of ‘For No One’.

A couple of the tracks in this mix have appeared here in some form before, but I couldn’t resist the pure novelty and record nerd-ery of recreating Revolver.

So, 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.

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

Jim Pipkins and the Boss Five – Mr CC

By , December 8, 2015 1:50 pm

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Listen/Download – Jim Pipkins and the Boss Five – Mr CC MP3

Greetings all.

 

We’re going to get over the hump this week with a groover, but first, a lesson in why you should always read labels, but then again, not too closely.

‘Mr CC’ by Jim Pipkins and the Boss Five had been on my radar for a long time before I finally scored myself a copy.

It is a fast-moving, mod/jazz dance floor heater, mostly instrumental, save for some shouts outs through the record.

A brief glance at the label reveals that the record company, Emerge (also home to the Northern Soul rarity ‘Every Time’ by Anthony and the Delsonics) had themselves a St Louis, MO address.

Now, St Louis has a long and rich R&B and soul tradition, so if you were to assume that Jim Pipkins and the Boss Five hailed from that great city, you would be forgiven.

Unless that is, you have access to the interwebs and the Googles and such, use of which revealed in short order that the group was a Pacific Northwest conglomeration.

Jim Pipkins had been in a Seattle group called the Gallahads, which evolved into the Boss Five.

The Boss Five were managed by local DJ Chuck Cunningham, aka ‘Mr CC’, and released a couple of 45s, including ‘Mr CC’ in 1965 and ‘Mister Clean ‘67’ on the Norman label.

Apparently Pipkins himself went on to work as a DJ on a number of West Coast stations.

‘Mr CC’ kicks off with a riff that sounds like a fast-moving version of ‘Watermelon Man’ with organ, horns and some groovy, jazzy guitar.

The whole thing’s over in less than two and a half minutes which is a shame because it is very groovy indeed.

I hope you dig it and I’ll 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).

 

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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.

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).

 

Example Example

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.

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