Get Your Rachmaninoff

Preludium Cis Moll
from the album Variations On Classics on Supraphon Records (1982).
Also appears on the compilation Strange Breaks and Mr. Thing on BBE Records (2008).

All The Things You C# - Charles Mingus
from the live album Mingus At The Bohemia on Debut Records (1955).

After spending 10 years in my youth playing classical piano, you would think I would know more about classical music. However, I spent probably 9.9 of those years thinking I'd rather learn to play jazz piano and Frank Sinatra ditties. More the shame for me I guess, but I will say I what little I know I enjoy. And everything I know is decidedly older than Sergei Rachmaninoff (the latest of anything I ever played was Tchaikovsky). Luckily, many others studied where I never ventured and today here's two "covers" of Rachmaninoff's famous Prelude in C# minor (check out this wikipedia entry with audio of Rachmaninoff being recorded by Thomas Edison).

First up is jazz-funk version of the prelude by Josef Vobruba with his Orchestra. It is possible this is the Prague Dance Orchestra with whom Vobruba is most often associated, but regardless the conductor is leading a big, funky group. The growing lore of Eastern European breaks is has been upheld by this track, which I had only recently discovered and then was delighted to hear in super clean form on Mr. Thing's recent compilation for BBE. The sound is huge and the number of elements and instruments contributing is astonishing to me, or probably to many listeners who do not often venture into orchestra territory. And just listen to whomever is attacking that piano, that is fierce, brother Christian.

One of the reasons I liked the Josef Vobruba version so much is my deep love for Charles Mingus's composition "All The Things You C Sharp," which is a juxtaposition of the jazz standard "All The Things You Are" with Rachmaninoff's prelude. Here the themes mix and match throughout lending an entirely new sound to the converted whole (a blend for the ages). High school performance piano piece du jour "Claire de Lune" even gets a little love on the piano lines occasionally, even if it was not able to make it into Mingus's brilliant title. Recorded live in 1955 (hence the less than stellar audio quality) at the Cafe Bohemia, this version is from early in Mingus's brilliant run as one of the most influential and far reaching jazz composers. He had not yet matched up with drummer Dannie Richmond, and I do miss DR's snappy drumming on this one, but overall the horns perform beautifully and Mingus pushes the players around with big, grounded bass. Pianist Mal Waldron, in his solo before Mingus's amazing bass solo, most clearly states the comparisons of the two composite songs. Deep, enjoyable listening. As a side note, Mingus attempted another "mash-up" on this album playing "Tenderly" against "September In The Rain" for his "Septemberly."

Salt Song

Stanley Turrentine: Gibraltar & I Told Jesus
From: Salt Song [CTI, 1971]

As the art and title suggest, Salt Song, tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine's second album for CTI, is an earthy record; the album unfolds with a patient, almost tidal energy. It's a nice melange of Brazilian-influenced jazz, gospel, blues, and R&B with a touch of funk.

With a decade of Blue Note works behind him, Turrentine was already an accomplished musician at this point in his career. As such, his song selection, arrangements, and playing feel comfortable and unencumbered of any need to prove chops. As well, the performances tend to favor group dynamics rather than solo expositions. This benefits the listener because Turrentine has assembled a fine group of musicians, including: Ron Carter on bass, Billy Cobham and Airto Moriera on drums/percussion, Eumir Deodate on keys, and Eric Gale on guitar.

The opening track Gibraltar, a Freddie Hubbard piece, bounces & grooves along effortlessly on Carter's bass. Gale then steps in and delivers a stand-out performance. His understated tone, chord-voicing, and picking patterns really anchor the groove and establish an upbeat melodic sensibility that fills space without dominating the scene. Eric Gale is new to me so I did some research and discovered him to be a very respected session man; perhaps the most telling description is that he's known as a "guitarist's guitarist".

Turrentine then begins to take the reigns on the gospel standard I Told Jesus with some lovely, bluesy soloing. Margaret Branch, Brenda Bryant, and Patricia Smith provide the vocals. The singing on this album is really what makes this record find its way onto my turntable more often than other jazz records. I love instrumental music, but sometimes a human voice really opens up the experience. I'd be curious if any Earfuzz readers have suggestions for other jazz albums with well-timed vocal moments- preferably vocals with gospel leanings.

Ike Turner: RIP

Ike Turner
November 5, 1931 - December 12, 2007

Ike Turner & The King's Of Rhythm: Thinking Black
From: A Black Man's Soul [Pompeii, 1969]

Whatever personal feelings you may have about Ike Turner's private life there's no denying that the man was an extraordinary musical talent who helped sculpt modern music as we know it. I'll try to put up some more rare gems from the troubled man later on but for now here's one of his best known solo tracks.

RIP.

Tripping Through The Life Cycle: The Earth Disciples

The Earth Disciples: Life Cycle and Bitter End Part 1
From: Getaway Train [Solid State, 1969]

So how do you follow up a post like Kevin's Anatomy Of A Sample pt 2? Well, the simple answer is I can't really. So instead I've opted for a change of pace and a journey once more into the raer.......

The Earth Disciples are a group veiled in the mystery of time, allowing their music to speak for them. Which is to say that, despite my best googling efforts, I can find absolutely squat about the band behind this release.
What I can tell you is that the album is one of the rarest records on Solid State but still seems to turn up reasonably often on Ebay. You could describe the music as Soul-Jazz, Jazz-Fusion,Rock-Fusion or a number of other relatively meaningless terms but at the end of the day all that really matters is the music and I love this album to pieces.

I'm not ashamed to admit that I had a momentary face melt the first time I heard Life Cycle. Starting with a funky rock riff the track seems to be settling into a groove before it breaks down into the first of many sublime tempo changes. Building on a piano led theme the band develop the mood with layer upon layer, reverb taking the listener off on a journey before the groove brings them back down to earth. This track is absolutely fantastic by any measure.

Bitter End Pt 1 is a more straightforward jazzy number featuring some nice breakdowns and excellent playing from the band once again.

As I mentioned, despite it's rarity, I've seen this LP pop up a number of times on ebay so if you like what you hear it's worth keeping an eye out for it. I'm off to celebrate my birthday now but should be back next week with some more breakface related gems. Have a good week.

Anatomy of a Sample Part 2- Shake Your Rump

Beastie Boys: Shake Your Rump

From: Paul's Boutique [Capitol Records, 1989]

Alphonse Mouzon: Funky Snakefoot

From: Funky Snakefoot [Blue Note, 1974]

Harvey Scales: Dancing Room Only

From: Hotfoot: A Funque Dizco Opera [Casablanca, 1979]

Ronnie Laws: Tell Me Something Good

From: Pressure Sensitive [Blue Note 1975]

Paul Humphrey: Super Mellow

From: The Drum Session [Inner City, 1979]

Alan Moorhouse: Soul Skimmer

From: The Big Beat Vol.2 [KPM, 1970]

Rose Royce: 6 O'Clock DJ, Born to Love You and Yo Yo

From: Car Wash soundtrack [RCA, 1976]

Funky 4+1: That's the Joint

From: That's the Joint- 12 " single [Sugar Hill, 1980]

James Brown featuring Afrika Bambaataa- Unity Part 6

From: Unity-single [Tommy Boy, 1984]

Afrika Bambaataa and the Jazzy Five- Jazzy Sensation

From: Jazzy Sensation- 12 "single [Tommy Boy, 1981]

The Sugarhill Gang- 8th Wonder

From: 8th Wonder [Sugar Hill, 1981]

I posted the first installment of the Anatomy of a Sample series in August, so you can read about that here. Today I am exploring the samples that the Dust Brother's used on Beastie Boys "Shake Your Rump" from Pauls Boutique. When Paul's Boutique was first released it was slept on by most of the hip-hop heads because it was nothing like Licensed to Ill. The Dust Brothers were true visionaries in the sampling game circa 1989, but they were undoubtedly influenced by the chaotic sample-heavy production of the Bomb Squad on Public Enemy's landmark recording It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. I'm not 100% sure about this, but it's rumored that Paul's Boutique contains more samples than any other hip-hop record in history. "Shake Your Rump" contains thirteen samples alone, so I can only imagine that the entire record is tipping the scales at over one-hundred samples.

The Dust Brothers artfully juxtaposed rare jazz drum breaks with old-school hip-hop and funky soul to craft the sample masterpiece "Shake Your Rump". I will now take you on a journey through the various samples from "Shake Your Rump". Fasten your seatbelts cause it's going to be a bumpy ride!

During the opening seconds of "Shake Your Rump" the listener is assaulted with a spastic drum break taken from the first couple seconds of Alphonse Mouzon's fantastic funk-inflected jazz tune called "Funky Snakefoot". This immediately segues into another drum break taken from the five second mark of Harvey Scales disco classic "Dancing Room Only". However, It seems that they removed the instruments in the foreground and slowed down the beat for the sample. After this, a chicken-scratch guitar taken from the opening seconds of Ronnie Laws cover of" Tell Me Something Good" is sped up to match the upbeat tempo of the track. Then, at about the twenty-six second mark, the conga drum beat from the opening seconds of Paul Humphrey's jazzy "Super Mellow" is used to spice up the track. Next, the first couple seconds of Alan Moorhouse's rippin' drum beat from "Soul Skimmer" is sampled at the 37 second mark of the track. Finally, the Funky 4 Plus 1's "That's the Joint" is sampled at the 39 second point of the track and it segues right into mutated scratching over a deep bassline that is taken from Rose Royce's instrumental track "6 O'Clock DJ".

This goes on for about 15 seconds and then the bassline from the beginning of Rose Royce's funk-tastic "Yo-Yo" slightly slows down the tempo before the "Funky Snakefoot" chicken scratch guitar makes another appearance. Then, the drum breaks from the beginning of the track are reincorporated into the mix and at the 1:33 mark, a vocal sample is taken from the 1:40 mark of James Brown and Afrika Bambaataa' Unity Part 6 (This is the part where Bambaata says "Shake Your Rump-Ah"). Next, at the 2:07 mark the Dust Brothers fuse the opening bars of Rose Royce's "Born to Love You" with background ambience and electronic handclaps taken from the 5:04 point of Afrika Bambaataa's "Jazzy Sensation". After this, a short vocal sample is taken from the 1:53 point of Sugarhill Gang's "8th Wonder" where they proclain "Hoo Hah Got Them All in Check". Finally, the Dust Brothers close out the track deftly by reintroducing Afrika Bambaataa's "Jazzy Sensation" sample and integrating it with the drum beats from Paul Humphrey's "Super Mellow". There are probably a couple samples that I have missed, so let me know if you spot them. This concludes the anatomy of a sample for Beastie Boys "Shake Your Rump". I hope you have enjoyed the ride.

Nicole Willis Remixed - Tempting Fate Soon at a store near you

NOTE: We're experimenting today with streaming mp3 instead of the usual downloads at the reasonable request of the good folks at Above The Clouds Records. Please let me know how this goes.

If This Ain't Love (Mr. Scruff Remix) - Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators


If This Ain't Love (Elizabeth Shepherd Trio Mix) - Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators


Following the astounding and thorough success of Nicole Willis and the Soul Investigator's brilliant Keep Reachin' Up, Above The Clouds Records is releasing a remix compilation of that album. ATC handles the UK distribution for the NW & TSI, so one can hope that their US label, Light In The Attic, will also be putting this out. However, currently their website appears to have no info on this.

While I am as hungry for Nicole Willis (and of course the amazing Soul Investigators) material as any of their adoring fans, the task of remixing such really superb and well loved tracks will mean a great deal of scrutiny. Of course the remix album is completely unlikely to match the original for cohesion and wall to wall brilliance, but the Mr. Scruff version really gets things started in the right way. A dancefloor version to be sure with big mixable intro and outro for whatever DJs might still be out there. While the Mr. Scruff version pumps up the boogie, jazz combo Elizabeth Shepherd Trio takes her remix into firmly dancey jazz track with great piano vamping.

Both the Scruff and E.Shepherd versions appear on a single drop by Above The Clouds on September 24th, and the full remix album to be released sometime in October. Hopefully the super-excellent Natural Self remix of "Feelin' Free" will also make that album (I haven't seen a track-listing for that yet). More Nicole Willis tomorrow including that Natural Self track.

In Memorium: Joe Zawinul (1932.07.07 - 2007.09.11)

A Remark You Made - Weather Report
from the album 8:30 on Columbia (1979).

Scotch and Water - The Cannonball Adderley Sextet
from the album Cannonball Adderley Sextet In New York on Riverside (1962).

Yesterday, jazz pianist/keyboardist/composer Joe Zawinul passed away due to complications from skin cancer. He had recently turned 75 and was touring this summer. After gaining early renown playing with Cannonball Adderley (up today is Zawinul's composition from their live Village Vanguard dates in November 1962), Zawinul worked with Miles Davis's early fusion band. He, along with co-leader and fellow former Davis player Wayne Shorter, reached the jazz stratosphere with Weather Report in the late 70s. From Weather Report's live album 8:30 I've also posted a Zawinul composition that strikes a more mournful mood. O-Dub has up a couple of more enjoyable tracks at Soul Sides.

Much like the recently deceased and posted about Max Roach, there is little doubting Joe Zawinul's long and fulfilling life and the eternal legacy he leaves behind for his fans old, new, and future.

In Memorium :: Max Roach (Jan 10, 1924 - Aug 16, 2007) :: Genius Drummer

Mildama - Clifford Brown & Max Roach
from the album Brown and Roach, Inc. on EmArcy Records (1954).
Drum Conversation - Max Roach w/ The Bud Powell Trio
from the album Jazz at Massey Hall, Vol. 2 on Debut Records (1953).
Fleurette Africaine - Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, and Max Roach
from the album Money Jungle on United Artists (1962).

This is a little, but today let's honor the passing of the jazz titan Max Roach on August 16th. It is difficult to encapsulated with any kind of brevity the magnificent breadth and depth of Roach's life and career, so I will not be attempting in this short space to do that. Instead I'll direct you to this excellent obituary in the New York Times.

Instead, I'd like to treat you to some tracks of Roach's from my favorite period of his long and always interesting career, namely when he was helping define the hard bop sound of the early 1950s. "Mildama" is a Roach contribution from the quintet he lead with trumpeter Clifford Brown. Essentially a drum solo with slight flourishes from the band, Roach displays his bombastic fills simultaneously with his ability to consistently keep the rhythm in the pocket. Just listen to how metronome regular the high-hat is through the rolling ebb or flow of the middle half of this traffic...Roach was a technical genius. "Drum Conversation" is a full on live drum solo from the recording session at Massey Hall that produced the famous Quintet concert. The opening press roll sadly gets a little lost in the recording fidelity, but again Roach opens up and really tears throw some exciting moments. Extended drum solos can often descend into wankery, but I always stay engaged wondering what Max might try next.

And finally, to contrast the pile driver ferocity of these tracks, I've selected the brilliant "Fleurette Africaine" off my favorite jazz album of all time Money Jungle. Here Roach's texturing and brush work is the epitome of restraint and gentle shading. Roach melds perfectly with Mingus's bass and Ellington's spare piano.

While the tracks here give a tiny taste of Roach's extreme skill as a drummer, they only hint at his efforts as a composer, activist (Freedome Now Suite!), industry pioneer (started Debut Records one of the first artist owned labels), educator (long time professor at UMass), and general all around stud (truly deserving of the unofficial title bestowed by his receipt of a MacArthur "genius" grant).

For further reading and some excellent videos check out this page from Drummer World.

Big Band Free Jazz

Johnny Dyani: Magwaza
From: Witchdoctor's Son [1978, Steeplechase]

Brotherhood of Breath: Kongi's Theme & Andromeda
From: Bremen to Bridgewater [live 1971/75; CD issued 2004, Cunieform]

My introduction to Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath came by way of bassist Johnny Dyani; I discovered Magwaza over at Moistworks and was immediately taken. For reasons I can't explain, South African jazz music consistently appeals to my sensibilities, and, Magwaza is a complete bulls-eye for my tastes. Research ensued and I found Dyani had creative ties with other South African notables, including: Abdullah Ibrahim (Dollar Brand), whose music I quite like, as well as an ensemble known as the Brotherhood of Breath. I did further research on this Brotherhood and found descriptions of a big band that incorporated elements of free jazz and South African township jazz. It sound pretty interesting so I picked up a disc.

Pianist Chris McGregor formed the Brotherhood in the late 60's as an extension of his earlier group The Blue Notes. The story of The Blue Notes is worth investigating in much more detail than this one sentence summary: mixed race ensemble, frustrated by the oppressive political climate in South Africa, leave home for the European jazz circuit. As the group toured and changed over the years, McGregor & company eventually shifted towards free jazz. The addition of local English players cemented the creative transition on the Brotherhood was cast. Members joined and disembarked as their lives made sense to do so.

Bremen to Bridgewater is a two disc set which includes live recordings from two different time periods so it's a great sampling of the band. The Bremen portion, from which these tracks were taken, occurred in 1971 at Lila Eule, a jazz club in Bremen, Germany. The Bridgewater portion in 1975 in Bridgewater Arts Centre in Bridgewater, England. I find the musicians synthesize some of the more appealing aspects of both big bang and free jazz music; the harness the raucous experimental spontaneity of free jazz, but never lose the disciplined, robust orchestration of a big band. The result is a dense, immersive sound; it's easy to lose track of time while listening.

Mingus vs. Faubus

Fables of Faubus - Charles Mingus
from the album Mingus Ah Um on Columbia (1959).

Original Faubus Fables - Charles Mingus
from the album Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus on Candid (1960).

Many thanks to Junior, floodwatch, b, and the gang for holding down the site so well while I've been swamped over the last month. Lots of posts have formulated in my mind and soon they'll be beaming out toward you via fiber optic.

April 22nd of this year marked the 85th anniversary of the birth of my favorite composer of all time: the late Charles Mingus. 2007 also marks the 50th anniversary of the civil rights milestone of the integration of Little Rock Central High School by the "Little Rock 9." That cat being interviewed in the image above is Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus, who became rightfully infamous by using the Arkansas National Guard to prevent the integration of LRCHS after the Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education Supreme Court decision that segregated schooling was unconstitutional. In response President Eisenhower sent the US Army to enforce integration and quell a crowd that can without hesitation be said to have been building towards lynching the black students. Imagine tanks and a riotous mob on your high school's lawn in any circumstance and you see the surreal aspect of this moment. And the topic of all the calamity was the forced subjugation/separation of some members of society. It is an incredibly ugly incident in US history. This seems largely unreal to me, but this happened only 50 years ago. My father was 10 and most of our family lived in Arkansas at the time. Lots more can be read here and summarized at wikipedia

And now I'll come back to Mingus. Never at a loss for opinion especially on racial issues, the "Angry Man of Jazz" recorded a song remembering the Little Rock 9 and denouncing Governor Faubus. The song "Fables of Faubus" appears on perhaps Mingus's most acclaimed album Mingus Ah Um, one of his 3 big-ticket Columbia releases. However, the Columbia executives demanded the vocals stripped from release. The tune itself is has a largely jaunty, swinging air that belies the serious nature of the material. Or perhaps Mingus felt the situation so absurd as to transcend "serious" or "sober" comment. Regardless the brass heavy octet moves in and out of free expression with great skill always returning in lock step to the theme. As always, Mingus and his right hand man drummer Dannie Richmond are in impeccable unison as the many horns get their turn (I particularly like Shafi Hadi's sax and Jimmy Knepper's trombone) and Horace Parlan plays some excellent atonal piano shifts.

For comparison, a year later on Candid's Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus, the vocal version did come out. In Mingus's quartet of choice at the time (Curson on trumpet, Eric Dolphy on sax/clarinet, with Richmond and Mingus) Richmond and Mingus speak-sing the vocals originally meant to go with the song. Despite the smaller group, the sound is still very full and Richmond shines even more. The jaunty tone of the music makes much more sense with the mocking and sardonic words. I vastly prefer the vocal version (hardly ever true for me), but this is beautiful and inventive stuff either way.

Happy Birthday, Mingus. Everyone be kind.

Redefining the American Bar Band

Bobby Previte: Airstrip One and Memory Hole
From: The Coalition of the Willing [Ropeadope 2006)

I regret that it was only until recently that I familiarized myself with New York composer and percussionist Bobby Previte, who has got to be one of the most exciting musicians working today. First a brief introduction: Previte grew up in upstate New York, where his first drum kit was fashioned out of metal garbage cans, aluminum pie plates, and wire coat hangers. His formal studies took place at the University of Buffalo, where he studied with John Cage and Morton Feldman before he permanently settled in NYC and became a fixture of the growing "downtown" experimental jazz scene of the 1980s. For the past 25 years he has cut his teeth on records from the likes of John Zorn and Tom Waits.

Among the half-dozen of Previte's current projects is a collective called the Coalition of the Willing, a sort of warped bar band devoted to his eclectic instrumental compositions. For their self-titled release on Ropeadope Records last year, Previte recruited guitarist Charlie Hunter (who eschews his usual 8-stringed bass/guitar hybrid for a Telecaster), keyboardist Jamie Saft, and Seattle's Skerik on saxophones. One could be forgiven to expect a whirlwind of electric improvisation with a group like this, yet instead the focus is on Previte's uniquely skewed compositions; the album contains elements of '70s fusion, classic hard rock, reggae, new wave, Hawaiian surf, psychedelia, spy music, avant-garde jazz, and pretty much every other genre of music under the sun. What looks like a contrived, stylistic disaster on paper actually translates quite well to the record, mostly due to the caliber of the musicians here and Previte's remarkable skills as a composer.

"Airstrip One" opens with a rolling drum pattern that features the assistance of Stanton Moore on second kit, and alternates between a long siren-like wailing from the guitar and a series of exploratory bass solos, both from the versatile Hunter. Then midway through, Hunter rips off a blues lick to kick off a groove that sounds like an outtake from Miles' A Tribute to Jack Johnson (1970). "Memory Hole" is more subtle, a tone-poem of colors that advances cautiously, buoyed by Saft's shimmering electric piano and a soft pulse from Previte - that strange harmonica-like sound is Steve Bernstein's "slide trumpet." Unexpectedly, Previte shifts to a 6/8 swing, the bass begins to walk, and Hunter takes the opportunity to display his blues chops again before returning to the opening theme.

Although the record doesn't necessarily push the envelope in terms of jazz composition or arranging, it's still an exciting hybrid of rock and jazz that comes highly recommended for those looking for something a little different. The live band is supposed to be a monster on stage, which I imagine would be a much better interaction with the music if Previte gets the group together to tour again.

(Personally) Slept On Gems

Sorcery - Charles Lloyd Quartet
from the album Forest Flower at Monterey on Atlantic (1966).
Sombrero Sam - Charles Lloyd Quartet
from the album Soundtrack on Atlantic (1969).
Both albums were released as a single CD by Atlantic in 1994.

I had meant to post on this album ages ago and was reminded by floodwatch's very nice recent post on Bobby Hutcherson. Much like Mr. Watch's delay in finally getting ahold of Hutcherson's Montara, I've only recently tuned in to Charles Lloyd's Forest Flower at Monterey. This is relatively inexcusable considering the album's massive popularity (the rare platinum jazz album) and line-up (Lloyd on sax and flute, Keith Jarrett on piano, Jack DeJohnette on drums, and Cecil McBee on bass). I say relatively inexcusable because there is an excuse for avoiding this great album for so long. Namely, my college radio station (KTRU - Rice University Radio) had lots of Lloyd's 80s and 90s albums and they were quite terrible. Usually I look to keep the hate to minimum but really I could not get into those albums in the least.

Still at long last my prejudices were shoved aside when I was fortunate enough to get a copy of the album for free and I've been enjoying it ever since. Of course my love for Jarrett has been mentioned here before and remains unabated. In one of their first recordings together DeJohnette and Jarrett are already interchanging beautifully, and McBee hangs right with them the whole way. While the title track is sublime and the most well known, I chose the Jarrett composition "Sorcery" to feature. It is one of the two studio recordings from the album (the rest are live at the Monterey Jazz Festival) and is all sharp edges and inventive phrasing from Jarrett and Lloyd. I'm amazed at what crosses over to the mainstream from jazz, because while the opening refrain sounds like a new Charlie Brown score the extended interplay between Lloyd's flute and Jarrett's piano from 2-3 minutes is some really heady stuff. Having gone back to many of Lloyd's 60s albums with Jarrett since getting tuned in I have to say he's far more interesting on flute than sax. Please sir, I would like to hear jazz flute.

When Atlantic re-released the album on CD it was coupled with the later live album (at Town Hall in NYC) Soundtrack. Soundtrack features the same team except McBee is replaced by Ron McClure and again features a (not-featured here) rendition of the great "Forest Flower Suite." Example track for this album is the Lloyd composition "Sombrero Sam" which accurately portrays the entire album's strongly funky feel. Just listen to sharp crack of DeJohnette's drums on this track along with Jarrett's bluesy piano runs...I picture the Kashmere Stage Band kids growing into this stuff in college. The funky feel is exuded in the second half of the "Forest Flower" also so that my feet stomp and head nods everytime. I'll freely admit there is an immense pile of terrible music out there; but remember in music, as in life, prejudice closes off opportunities.

Uncovered Heart amidst Werner's Electric Mayhem

Uncovered Heart - Kenny Werner
Inaugural Balls - Kenny Werner
from the album Lawn Chair Society on Blue Note (2007).

Pianist/Composer Kenny Werner has a new album out this week entitled Lawn Chair Society, which is his first release for Blue Note. Werner assembled quite a band for this album with horns Dave Douglas and Chris Potter, Scott colley on bass, the great Brian Blade on drums, and production by Lenny Picket (of Tower of Power fame).

Overall the album didn't do much for me, but I was really floored by the track "Uncovered Heart." Originally written years ago following the birth of Werner's daughter Katheryn, the track was to be re-recorded for this album even before Katheryn's tragic passing in an automobile accident. Even without knowing the backstory (as I didn't when I first heard it) the emotional pull of this song is tremendously strong. Normally here at Ear Fuzz I usually favor more bombastic stuff, but this smooth song is mellow beauty through and through generating feelings of both hope and sadness at once. Blade's brush work adds superb texture to the melody that gets passed back and forth between the piano, horns, and even bass (nice solo near the midway point).

While Werner stated this to be his first album to heavily utilize "electronic" styles, the rest fo the album is some fair to good straight jazz work (Werner originals) with occasional electronic flourishes and three truely abysmal purely electronic tracks (thankfully they are at least short). I included "Inaugural Balls" as a good example of what the rest of the album is like with another strong performance by Blade and Werner and the legendary horn players rather under-utilized. Still, nothing else on the labum touches "Uncovered Heart" in either mood or quality.

Finally, maybe in keeping with the desire to add "computer music" to his jazz arsenal, the album art (see image above and at amazon link) is an enjoyable double homage to Rene Magritte and Window's Bliss Desktop.

In addition to album art that is a kindly homage to both Rene Magritte and the Windows "bliss" desktop,

Soothing The Pain Of Commuting: For Real

Flowers: For Real
From: Soul Spectrum Vol. 2 [Bbe, 1999]

Roy Ayers & Wayne Henderson: For Real
From: Step Into Our Life [Polydor, 1978]

It's always an eye opener when you go for years appreciating a track only to find out that it's a cover and the original is even better.

Roy Ayers & Wayne Henderson's Step Into Our Life was one of the very first records I ever picked up on my digging travels and, while the record as a whole failed to capture my imagination, I'd always had a soft spot for the track For Real with its mellow sound and sunshine style.

I'd always believed that the track was an original until a friend played me the Flowers version a few weeks ago and it blew my tiny mind.

Both versions feature the same languid rhythms and blissed out soul but the Flowers version brings an added punch to the party that belts and relaxes me at the same time. Full of true soul and beautiful melodies this is one of The Greatest songs to chill out to on your way to or from work.

I've included both versions for you to compare and contrast but in my eyes there's only one winner. I hope it makes your Monday a little bit more tolerable.......

In Memory Of J Dilla

Rene Costy: Scrabble

Jackson 5: All I Do Is Think Of You

Stan Getz and Luiz Bonfá: Saudade Vem Correndo

The Cyrkle: The Visit

The Three Degrees: Maybe

Ahmad Jamal: Swahililand

A year to the day of Jay Dee's untimely death and the blog world is rightly filled with tributes to the brilliant catalogue of beats the producer left us with.

Not having anything unheard to add to the tributes out there I thought instead I'd just share a few of my favourite tracks that Dilla reinvented for his beats. It may just be a coincidence but to me what many of these originals share is a deep rooted soulfulness similar to the great beats that the man delivered time and time again during his lifetime.

While I tend to shy away from breaks posts the quality of tracks produced from the great songs above is justification in it's own right. May his music be celebrated for many years to come.

James Dewitt Yancey (February 7, 1974–February 10, 2006)

R.I.P. Alice Coltrane

Alice Coltrane: Galaxy In Satchidananda
From: World Galaxy [Impulse!, 1972]

Alice Coltrane 27.08.1937 - 12.01.2007

It seems like very other post at the moment is paying tribute to the passing of an artist but mention had to be made of the death of Alice Coltrane last Friday.

I featured Alice's work in a post last August and don't really have much more to add to my previous statement that Alice produced gorgeous, timeless, music of the highest quality. The fact that Alice stepped out of the shadow of the genius of John Coltrane to make her own permanent mark on jazz is a testament to the skills and determination she had in her life.

While I would highly, highly, recommend picking up the two albums mentioned in the previous post (Journey In Satchidananda in particular is one of the most beautiful records I've ever heard) I thought I'd share another album from Alice's seventies period that I'd been meaning to post for some time and never got round to.

Galaxy In Satchidananda follows on from Alice's previous work with it's lush mixture of harp, strings and organs - it displays Alice's ability to arrange compositions that while breathtakingly beautiful and mellow, never threaten to fall into background music. While there are funkier offerings out there the sombre mood of this piece just seemed appropriate for this moment.

She will be missed.

The Third World Underground

The Third World Underground: Don's Song/Cherry
From: The Third World Underground [Trio Records (Japan), 1972]

Since I'm about a week from a new computer that will enable me to dig in and make some posts from the vinyl collection, I'll follow up floodwatch's post with a track from a CD which also bears the distinction of being an annoyingly difficult to find Japanese release.

This is one of those jazz "albums" that is really a concert selection: Nov. 14, 1972 : Jazz-House Montmartre : Copenhagen, Denmark. The Third World Underground is actually: Don Cherry, Dollar Brand (one of my favorites), and Carlos Ward. I couldn't find much info about this specific show or the circumstances of this collaboration, but, a little research reveals that Dollar Brand and Carlos Ward played together fairly regularly. Don Cherry seems to be a temporary addition. Most of the compositions here are credited to Brand though Cherry is credited for writing Don's Song. I did find this which hints that this trio might have played a few shows together in 1972.

Don's Song/Cherry is the first of the disc's two "songs" (more like medleys) and it contains all of the things I love about Dollar Brand's piano-playing: his steady rolling left hand, a minimalism in chord changes, and an almost architectural quality in his chord variety and phrasing. He does a beautiful job of both laying a solid foundation and creating an open space in which the soloists can explore. The consistently adventurous (career highlights often involve work with Ornette Coleman) Cherry jumps right in with the trumpet. Meawhile, Ward's saxophone playing is nicely supportive keeping Cherry aloft on the trumpet and filling in potential gaps throughout the entirety of the performance. The three groove along in a very natural, relaxed fashion.

The mp3 is a little over 20min which I hope isn't a problem. I thought about editing it shorter, but just didn't have the heart. If you want to hear the rest, I found the disc States side here.

Normal Services Is Resumed, Now With Extra Fuzz

Ben & The Platano Group: Arte Pino Pasta
From: Paris Soul [Dare-Dare, 1971]

Five Stairsteps: We Must Be In Love
From: 7" [Curtom, 1969]

Joe Mcphee: Shakey Jake
From: Nation Time [CJR, 1971]

Lyn Christopher: Take Me With You
From: Lyn Christopher [Paramount, 1973]

So, apologies for disappearing for the last couple of days, these things happen you know, nothing like going on holiday and coming back to find you're forgotten to renew the site ownership.

However, let's not waste time talking about what's been and gone and instead get back to celebrating the hear and now.

As we enter the third year of Ear Fuzz it seems time for another shake up and that's why we're looking to you, yes you, to help keep this site the magnificent bastard that it is today.

We're looking for ladies and gentlemen who would be interested in writing for the site and joining the Fuzz family. By now you should have some idea of the kind of music we talk about on this site from hip hop to soul to funk to jazz to blues to library to psych to electronica and beyond so if you're interested in contributing to the site drop a line here and we'll go from there.

Just in case you need reminding of what we do, and because you've been deprived off new music for a minute, here are a few choice cuts of classic material.

Ben & The Platano Group's Arte Pino Pasta, taken from their 1971 album Paris Soul, is European funkiness of the highest order - an orchestration desperately in need of a high speed, gas guzzling car chase to accompany it's relentless rhythms, horn crescendos and dirty guitar.

I've stated before my love for the Five Stairsteps work and We Must Be In Love is a bonafide classic. Curtis Mayfield's touch is all over this from the rousing horns to the bongo drums to the sweet soul harmonies. It's tracks like this that prove just how great this group were at their peak, rivalling the best of any male vocal group out there, including the Jackson 5.

Next up we have 13 and a half minutes of heavy drums, great organ work and all round genius of Joe Mcphee's Shakey Jake off his 1970 album Nation Time. Drop this in the right club, at the right time, with the bass way up high, and pandemonium will ensue.

Lyn Christopher's Take Me With You off her 1973 Self Titled album, is one of those songs that makes the whole digging process worthwhile. While the rest of the album is reasonable, Carly Simon lite, folky music, Lyn hits the listener with this brooding, sexed up genius of a track. Pure perfection.

Follow The Medicine Man

Gary Bartz NTU Troop: Standin' On The Corner and Sing Me A Song Today
From: Follow The Medicine Man [Prestige, 1972]

Where's the love for Gary Bartz? One of the most consistently high performers of the fusion scene, Bartz seems to have been labelled as a purely smooth soul jazz musician. This is no doubt mainly due to the great success of his classic Mizell Brothers productions such as Music Is My Sanctuary in the late seventies but Bartz had a lot more strings to his, eh, alto saxophone than this.

Having toured with Max Roach and Miles Davis (including soloing on the classic Live-Evil) Bartz knew his roots when he formed the NTU Troop in 1970. Combining influences from funk, soul, jazz and folk the band created a unique style that still hits home today.

Follow The Medicine Man is one of Bartz's grittiest albums from this period. I was looking for an easy comparison to this work but to be honest I'm hard pushed to think of one.

Standin' On The Corner is a laidback chilled piece of street corner funk with gorgeous production featuring a combination of great horn work, a continuous bubbling piano line and Andy Bey singing his heart out over the clashing cymbals and alto sax.

Sing Me A Song Today is like some proto drum and bass track twenty plus years before it's time consisting as it does of a proper tech step beat, warped trumpets and what can only be described as an ominous bassline. With a stop-start rhythm and stomping groove it was only on the third or forth listen that I really "got" this track - so far ahead of the game it's a little frightening.

Show the man some love.

Webster Lewis: Live At Club 7

Webster Lewis: Do You Believe
From: Live At Club 7, Oslo [Counterpoint, 1971]

Being at work with a hangover is one of those things that always seem like less of a chore the night before when you're in the pub soaked in alcohol and telling all your workmates how much fun the next day will be.

Currently experiencing the cold sweat/dry mouthed reality of the situation I was zoning out to my headphones when this beauty came on and I thought I'd use my time wisely by sharing the genius with you.

Another highly influential and greatly underappreciated artist, Webster Lewis cut many a fine track in his long and distinguished career but that aren't many finer than this live version of Do You Believe.

Starting with the kind of percussion arrangement that had heads swooning over Kruder & Dorfmeister's output in the mid to late nineties Webster takes the listener on a twenty minute journey through soul, jazz and funk as the track slows, stalls, and ups its tempo while maintaining it's relentless rhythm. Featuring organs, horns and a beautiful, beautiful, lead vocal this is the tonic a tired body and mind needs to get through the day.

Having A Spaceball

Larry Young's Fuel: SpaceBall and Moonwalk
From: Spaceball [Arista, 1975]

So I'm still on a bit of a fusion tip and realised I've yet to feature any music by Larry Young, a man who burnt so brightly before dying of pneumonia at the shockingly young age of 38.

An organist of immeasurable talent, Young was involved in the recording of many of the great Blue Note jazz albums of the sixties including those of Grant Green and Joe Henderson before moving into the world of fusion and funk in the early seventies.

Like many jazz artists who moved away from the traditional sound, Young's post Blue Note work is often either overlooked or dismissed out of hand. However, upon listening to it again what strikes you most is how left field it is, even Young's biggest success "Turn Off The Lights" has him going crazy with a synthesiser over the groove heavy track.

Spaceball, released in 1975, was the last album to be published during Young's lifetime and offers up late Larry's usual mix of the good and the bad. While the quality is too varied for me to call this a forgotten classic, when Young struck gold he produced some absolute gems.

The title track displays Young's talents of combining fun with artistic merit as he gives the first two minutes of the record over to a funky scat laced over orgasmic female vocals (this is as good as it sounds, honest) before the instruments kick in with that 70's Young sound of high pitched synths, funky bass and general craziness. Refusing to ever just stick with a groove the track veers from side to side and up and down without ever losing the rhythm. More than a hint of Parliament's influence on this recording as well.

Moonwalk starts with a lovely little break and lots of echoey spaced out effects before the groove sets in. It's undoubtedly one of those tracks that slowly takes hold of the listeners interest as it progresses, the sounds layering up to create an otherworldly feel, the throbbing bass re-verbs that appear late in the track are absolutely killing it as well.

Music to brighten even the dullest day, don't sleep.

Unwind Yourself

Alice Coltrane: Journey In Satchidananda
From: Journey In Satchidananda [Impulse!, 1971]

Alice Coltrane: Turiya And Ramakrishna
From: Ptah The El Daoud [Impulse!,1970]

Life is hectic at the moment people, a job promotion and real world moves leaving less time than I'd like to cuddle up to my vinyl and whisper sweet nothings into its grooves. What better time then to take a moment out and relax and unwind with the audio equivalent of a spiritual and mental cleanse from Alice Coltrane.

Coltrane's fourth solo album after the death of John, Journey in Satchidananda marks a high point in Alice's solo career and proves that she possessed a great musical talent herself. Inspired by the meeting with her guru Swami Satchidananda, Coltrane's playing is expansive and the compositions epic and sweeping in nature. The title track itself is probably my favourite of all of Alice's work, the combination of lush harp playing is offset by some brilliant work by Pharoah Sanders that prevents the music from ever entering the dreaded world of easy listening. This is gorgeous, timeless, music of the highest quality.

Released a year earlier, Ptah The El Daoud offers hints of what's to come on Journey in... but is composed more as one continuous piece, the album's musical themes continuing from one track to the next. Turiya And Ramakrishna showcases Coltrane's piano skills to create a lilting piece that drifts in and out of focus with some excellent bass by Ron Carter carrying the track forward (Coltrane certainly knew how to compose a stellar line up for her albums).

With the insanity going on in the world at the moment take a moment to listen to the pieces, relax your body, and unwind your mind, you won't regret it.

Harp And Soul

Dorothy Ashby: Soul Vibrations and Come Live With Me
From: Afro-Harping [Cadet, 1968]

What with all the continued drama and ups and downs that accompany the World Cup what better time to take a breather, sit back, and unwind your mind to the sounds of Dorothy Ashby.

The harp is not the first instrument that springs to mind when you think of funky, beat heavy, jazz and Ashby worked long and hard to garner respect for her talent, touring with more established musicians thoughout the fifties and into the sixties. However, the hard work was worth it as one listen of Ashby's playing and it all makes perfect sense. Ashby's skill with the instrument takes the harp out of the background, crafting sublime melodies and themes, it's lush sound working beautifully with the arrangements of Richard Evans and the trademark bassy production of the Cadet label.

Afro-Harping is, in my mind at least, Ashby's strongest work, capturing her at the height of her powers with a sound that's as tight as they come. From the get go on Soul Vibrations it's all about the power of the piece, coming across like a lost track from Axelrod's Songs albums, exotic strings and thudding drums propelling the track forward with Ashby's harp fluttering over the top exquisitely.

Come Live With Me is lazing on a sunny day captured on vinyl grooves. Blissfully laid back, the track glides by as Ashby's harp and synthesised chords leave you floating away in a cloud of dreams. Absolutely gorgeous and the perfect tonic for a hectic month.

The Boys From Brazil

Cesar Mariano: Futebol De Bar
Jorge Ben: Ponta Da Lanca Africano (Umbabarauma)

From: Brazil - Musica De Futebol [Mr Bongo, 2006]

So you may have heard that there's a little footy tournament starting today......

To say I'm hyped about this would be a serious understatement. Yes I know England won't win and yes I know that even the glamour of the World Cup won't make a match like South Korea vs Togo anymore exhilarating but still I can't help myself and am determined to watch as much as possible.

Because of this commitment to football and drinking my posts may be even more sporadic and infrequent than normal over the coming weeks, at least until England get knocked out anyway. If they're doing well expect lots of summer fried funk, if it all goes wrong expect Esther Phillips.

However, to kick things off I've trawled and trawled for some decent soccer related songs and come up with almost nada apart from the Brazilian gems that I give you today. Yes I know posting Brazilian music at the start of the World Cup is more than a little cliched but it's the best I can do under the circumstances unless you fancy hearing Waddle and Hoddle's Diamond Lights again. For those not in the know, don't Google it, treasure your innocence.

Cesar Mariano's Futebol De Bar is a lovely slice of rolling Brazilian goodness. Using nothing more than a piano and percussion the song conjures up that stadium feeling of anticipation and action with it's rumbling drums and is also a great dancefloor number at the same time.

I've been meaning to do a proper post on Jorge Ben for a long time now but until I finally pull my finger out this will have to do. Ponta Da Lanca Africano (Umbabarauma), originally from his Africa Brasil album, is a lovely slice of dirty tinged funk with that summertime vibe in very full effect and quite possibly the greatest football related song ever.

Both are available on the linked album which, while there's nothing outstandingly rare, is a nice little themed compilation and worth checking out.

Now, let the insanity begin...........

The Messenger Of Spring

Doug Carn: Western Sunrise and The Messenger
From: Adam's Apple [Black Jazz, 1975]

Man it is so sunny here this morning! It's been a longtime coming but Spring has finally reached the British Isles. London's looking gorgeous as the rays bounce off the smog and the sunlight glistens on the layers of garbage outside the office (I may be in a minority of one but I reckon the biggest impact of the 40 odd years of terror threats in London has been the removal of all bins from the City centre, way too much shit on these streets).

So what better time then for some spiritual, uplifting, but at the same time heavy as they come, fusion?

Doug Carn is a strange figure in the world of jazz. A highly gifted musician and a possibly even more gifted arranger, Doug's kinda flown under the public radio for near on 30 years, despite releasing quality album after quality album and even outselling Ramsey Lewis in the mid seventies. I hardly have the power to change all this but every little helps so here goes.

One of the great talents of Doug Carn is the way he merges the vocals with the instruments. Western Sunrise is a nice example of this as Doug and his wife Jean deliver the vocal performance while the horns provide accompaniment, performing variations on the main riff over samba style percussion. I love the way that Carn manages to get this big sound from what was in actual fact a pretty small group of performers, multilayering the instruments beautifully.

The Messenger is like nothing else on this album, Doug dropping the vocals and relaxed vibe to go for an all out sonic boom on the keyboard, hitting it at full tempo as spacey synthesizers reverberate over the top, the drums propelling the track along. Far out and furious, this is about different from your normal spiritual jazz as you can get but it's as welcome as it's unexpected and guaranteed to blow away any winter cobwebs you have left between your ears.

Grant Green: Vibes And Stuff

Grant Green: Let The Music Take Your Mind and Down Here On The Ground
From: Alive! [Blue Note, 1970]

When it comes to live albums I'm normally a little bit reluctant to play them out, the poor sound quality and scatty nature not appealing to my listening preferences. However, it's a foolish man indeed who would ignore the live recordings of sixties funk and jazz. The performances often eclipse the studio versions, the improv nature of the gig allowing the artists to elaborate and develop on their themes, wandering off from the originals blueprint into something new and exciting.

A talented jazz guitarist, Green recorded a number of good jazz albums in the fifties and sixties for Blue Note, disappeared from the scene for a couple of years due to heroin addiction, and came back to record albums almost up to his death in 1979. Despite being a prolific performer, Green only ever appeared on two live albums and they're both killers.