Gil Scott Heron:
Did You Hear What They Said
From: Free Will
We Almost Lost Detroit
From: Bridges
Angel Dust
From: Secrets
Willing
From: 1980
Better late than never, it only seems appropriate that a site as immersed in soul and funk as Ear Fuzz should take a minute to appreciate that Mr Gil Scott Heron has released a new album. I’ve admittedly only given it a quick listen through so far but have to say that I’m impressed, the combination of Gil’s always powerful vocals and the updated accompaniment works extremely well. However, today I’m more interested in looking back to Gil’s past and highlighting a few tracks that may not be on everyone’s radar but certainly should be.
Not that long ago there was a pure record geekery discussion about who had the better discography, Curtis Mayfield of Gil Scott Heron. Without hesitation I plumped for Curtis as I expect most people would do. It was only when I had a moment to think about it that I decided to go back and revisit Gil’s albums and I must say that it’s perhaps not as clear cut as you’d automatically assume.
I’m skipping over Pieces Of A Man as this is unarguably Gil’s masterpiece album and, if you don’t have a copy already, please go out and buy it right now
Hypnotic Brass Ensemble: Gibbous and War
From: Self Titled (Honest Jon’s, 2009)
What better way to celebrate the Saints victory of which I’m not actually celebrating then to post some great Brass Ensemble music. I had been trying to get this post up for a while but now seems like the perfect time.
Despite being indebted to New Orleans, The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble are actually from Chicago. In a way you can hear it, as they definately stray from the traditional brass band mode. Besides the traditional brass they throw hard hitting type of hiphop rhythms and drums as well as taking from Brass marching bands and drum corps to make an epic hard hitting sound. All eight members are the sons of longtime Sun Ra collaborator Phil Cochran and you can hear the inspiration of the Arkestra in their music.
Both songs are off of their self titled album. What you’ll first notice is almost all their songs aren’t longer than 3-4 minutes. Solos find there way in but 1-2 minute trumpet solos are rare. They move to fast and too hard to get caught up with drawn out solos. Gibbous is a marching band brass epic. It barely lasts 3 minutes of solid brass funk. This is exactly why I’m excited to hear what they do with Gorillaz on their new Plastic Beach album.
The 2nd track is War which is carried by a dirty hard trumpet part. This song is begging to be remixed and rapped over and makes me wish I had Just Blaze’s phone number. Tuesday night I was able to see Brother Ali perform at a Haiti Benefit show and he rapped over a Hypnotic Brass Ensemble track. That might have been my favorite moment of the entire night.
Oscar Brown, Jr.: A Dime Away from A Hotdog
From:Movin on
Chuck Brown & The Soul Searchers: Bustin’ Loose
From:Bustin’ Loose
Phirpo Y Sus Caribes: Comencemos
From: Parilla Caliente [Phillips, 1973]
Bobby Pauneto: El Senor Sid
From: El Sonido Morderno [Mardi Gras, 196?]
Bobby Hutcherson feat. Harold Land : Goin’ Down South
From: San Francisco
Max Roach: January V
From: M’Boom
Back with an odds and sods post today though be assured that this has been handpicked for that EarFuzz seal of quality and all tracks are suitably fantastic.
Squarepusher: Don’t Go Plastic, Ill Descent and Shin Triad
From: Music is Rotted One Note [Warp, 1998]
Before I dive into the subject matter of this week’s post, I would like to personally thank Junior and Chuck for making the switch over to Wordpress without any major issues occurring. I apologize that I have been missing in action lately, but life has been smacking me around like a red-headed step child. I hope to get my bearings and post on a more regular basis, but I am unable to commit to any sort of schedule at this point. Thanks go out to the rest of the crew for bringing the serious funk while I was gone. Here’s to continuing the legacy of Ear Fuzz on Wordpress.
Today’s post focuses on electro-jazz, a style of music that juxtaposes elements of jazz fusion, funk and soul. In the late 90’s, electronic acts and jazz musicians began marching to the same drummer, as numerous like-minded acts started releasing records all over the globe. I know the name electro-jazz or nu-jazz makes a lot of people cringe, but aside from a few big names like St. Germain and Jazzanova, there is an abundance of great stuff to be found in this genre.
One of my first discoveries of Electro-jazz was the album Music is Rotted One Note by UK electronic act Squarepusher. This is essentially the brainchild of Tom Jenkinson who combined vintage samplers and sequencers with organic intrumentation to achieve a fascinating reinterpretation of the sound Miles Davis mastered on Bitches Brew. Even though I was merely a jazz novice when I first discovered this record, I couldn’t help but notice the similarities between Squarepusher and most of the 70’s fusion like Miles, Weather Report, Mahavishnu Orchestra, etc. The entire album is not in the jazz-fusion vein however, as it incorporates musique concrete, ambient electronic passages and aural transmissions from another world.
I am featuring three songs from the album that encapsulate the feel of it as a whole, with two of them sounding like they could have easily been on any Miles Davis album from the fusion era. Keep in mind that the only instruments used on this record are sequencers, synthesizers, percussion and rhodes piano.
The second track on the record “Don’t Go Plastic” starts out with cymbal splashes and the sound of rhodes piano bubbling under the surface like molten lava. It slowly builds with percussion that seems to be spliced from different takes, while the rhodes glides through the song like it has wings. At about the two minute mark, their is a percussive break that is seemingly computer-generated, and then a sinister piano melody plays for a couple bars. After a brief but impressive drum solo, a solo kicks in that is like no other. It is hard to tell whether this solo was achieved through the various sequencers and pedals that are the usual M.O. for Squarepusher, but it sounds to me like a piano is being played underwater while the rest of the band is riding the groove.
“Ill Descent” captures the essence of ambient rock bands like Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze while simultaneously managing to experiment with textures and sound that pull from jazz and avant garde music. If I had thought of this song when I was compiling my triumvirate of space music comps, it would have fit like a glove.
The last track is a short burst of creative energy that opens with scattershot drumming and electronic sound waves only to switch gears completely into a cacophonous, funky slab of goodness that is just too good to pass up. The rumbling bassline from Digital Underground’s classic hip-hop track “The Humpty Dance” is the most obvious influence on this track.
This concludes my overview of Squarepusher’s 1998 classic Music For Rotted One Note. I welcome any comments about other Electro-jazz bands that you guys are digging right now.
The Har-You Percussion Group: Welcome To The Party
From: The Har-You Percussion Group
Ramon Morris: First Come, First Served
From: Sweet Sister Funk
Niagara: Kattarh
From: S.U.B. [United Artists, 1970]
Joe Chambers: Gazelle Suite
From: The Almoravid
As summer has made the occasional coy appearance over the last month I’ve been focusing almost entirely on sweet soul and, as previously mentioned, rap compilations. In all this trawling through the collection I’ve consistently rediscovered stunning instrumental percussion led tracks that I’ve put aside for another day. If, like me, you’re experiencing the lethargy that only August can bring then this seems like the perfect time to unleash this on the blog.
Before going any further it’s worth mentioning that, although I’ve only posted one song from each, none of the albums featured here could ever be considered a one tracker, I highly recommend checking them all out if you ever get the chance (which is admittedly far more likely for some than others).
So, back to basics and on with the music. Four instrumental tracks from different genres, different years, all tied together by the outstanding way they make you want to lose it for just a moment on the dancefloor, the living room carpet, your train carriage etc etc.
First up, appropriately enough, Is The Har-You Percussion Group’s Welcome To The Party off their self titled 1969 album. An absolute classic burning salsa number this teases the audience for nigh on two minutes of the running time, building up and dropping back to the bass line before really kicking in with handclaps, bongos, and the kitchen sink. I have next to no natural rhythm but even I want to shake my hips to this.
Next up some jazz funk from Ramon Morris. I’m not the biggest fan of this genre but First Come, First Served is one of the outstanding examples for me personally. Mixing the obligatory groove with some exemplary playing from Morris this track breaks out of just following the percussion allowing the listener room to breathe and appreciate the artistry on display. I know everyone always gets excited by the funk of the title track but for me at least I always liked the clean crisp sound on offer here.
Niagara’s Kattarh is little more than an extended groove but what a groove! Featuring a rolling bass, wah wah and percussion the band take the basic structure and constantly introduce new sounds and variations into the mix, ensuring that the five minutes never become a repetitive dancing exercise. Hypnotic yes, Repetitive, no.
On start up Joe Chambers’ Gazelle Suite of his much wanted, little owned, album The Almoravid sounds like the odd one out. Light piano chords and scattering hi hats, while pretty, do not a dancefloor track make. However, at the one minute mark the track finds its groove as drums and bass kick into gear and the tune starts sounding very much like a prototype drum and bass record. Veering off from ever getting stuck in a rut but never losing the beat the rhythm hits its height two thirds of the way through and then slowly and wonderfully falls apart again. An outstanding track, if only 10% of the modern dance music I bought had this amount of drumming quality and ingenuity I would be a very happy man.
There you go, I’ve got another ten or so I could have posted up but lets not overdo it to earlier in the month eh? Enjoy.
Charly Antolini’s Power Dozen: Uela Uela and Marabuena
From: Atomic Drums [EMI-Columbia, 1972]
April 1st today but the only foolish thing about this site would be if you chose to not check out the couple of tracks from Charly Antolini’s breaktastic album Atomic Drums.
A Swiss jazz drummer, Charly’s albums always offered up some fantastic playing but Atomic Drums stands out from most of his releases by combining this energy with an album’s worth of tunes that fall more on the funkier side of the tracks. As you would expect/hope for an album with such a promising title (but rarely get) the tunes on offer here also have an insane amount of open breaks so any aspiring producers, do your worst.
Uela Uela may be familiar from a variety of mixes/compilations over the years as it’s become a popular number with its call and response vocal and trumpet line and a relentlessly dancefloor orientated beat. As you would expect from Antolini, the percussion is fantastic.
Marabeuna, a track with far less publicity, is a fantastic rolling beast. With what seems to me to be heavy African influences, the tune once again features call and response vocals/horns along with an exceptionally funky organ riff as well. Great stuff indeed.
As is sadly often the case, despite being arguably Antolini’s greatest album, this is a real git to find in the field, particularly if you’re not in Europe. Still, dedication always pays off and if not, I’m sure there are blogs out there sharing the whole thing somewhere.
I would post more but I think the G20 protesters are about to make my afternoon very interesting. More tunes soon if I get out of this in one piece…….
A Tribe Called Quest- Bonita Applebaum
R.A.M.P.-
The Cannonball Adderly Quintet-
Little Feat-
Rotary Connection-
Casey & The Pressure Group: Wailing Arab and This Is Just The Beginning
From: Powerhouse [Philips Holland, 1970]
Apologies for the google keyword heavy title – should pull in some interesting search terms anyway. I’ve put up some soul (I’m somewhat surprised that people are sleeping on the Clarence Reid and Willie Tee but each to their own), rock, hardcore, spoken word, and rap in the last few posts so it seemed a perfect time to return to the more funky sounds of the hammond organ. However, rather than go down the Jimmy Smith root, I thought I’d offer up something slightly different from the norm with music from the Netherlands. It may not be the first stop on the hammond tour but if people can put their cultural snobbery to one side for a minute they’ll hear the goddamn intense playing on offer here and feel suitably spaced out and funkafied.
Formed by keyboardist Cees Shrama, the band were undoubtedly influenced by the likes of Booker T as their starting point but, and this is what I love about another country’s interpretation of a musical style, the group add their own unique take on the music as they bring together funk and a more space age sound.
Wailing Arab is a heavy heavy, slightly psychedelic, hammond organ odyssey with Shrama going for broke over the percussion and guitar rhythm. One of those tracks that creeps up on you, it’s normally only about halfway through when you actually really start to comprehend what a monster this is.
This Is Just The Beginning is on a more straight funk tip with long drawn out horn notes kicking things off before they get into a call and response with the hammond before the sound layers up for the epic ending.
From what I can gather Shrama is still heavily involved in music to this day which speaks volumes for the love he displays for the craft during the running time of Powerhouse and the group’s other recordings. Kudos to him.
Art & Ron: Can’t Stop Talkin’
From: Black Fist OST [Happy Fox, 1977]
Gabor Szabo: Thirteen
From: Mizrab
Afro Kelenkye Band: Moving World
From: Moving World [Emporium, 1974]
Jose Mauro: Obnoxious
From: Obnoxious [Quartin, 1970]
Pied Piper Of Funkingham: Clap Song
From: Pied Piper Of Funkingham [Chocolate Cholly, 1972]
Kool Moe Dee: I Go To Work
From: Knowledge Is King
It’s about time for me to take a few weeks break as I get away from it all with sun, sea, sand and, I suspect, an overindulgence in alcohol. No matter that nine times out of ten I return from my breaks feeling more knackered than when I left, as long as the daily grind is left far behind I’m more than happy.
Although my more than able fellow Fuzzers will be dropping gems left right and centre over the next few weeks I can never head off without leaving something behind so here’s a random selection of tunes I could never quite work out where to put. Once again, they’re all great songs looking for homes…
Can’t Stop Talkin’ off the soundtrack to little known or seen movie Black Fist is a stomping slice of wah wah funk full of brooding menace that develops into something that the late great Mr Hayes would have considered acceptable as a small slice on one of his early seventies productions. Love those horns lying deep in the mix.
Gabor Szabo’s epic Thirteen is what happens when guitar noodling and great percussion come together in sweet harmony. Starting with a wandering solo the track adds nothing more than a second guitar, piano and drums to this mix for its entire 9 minutes but that does me just fine. Some may find this strays too far into lounge (it is on CTI after all) but give it a go and make sure that the drums are turned up LOUD.
Moving World by Afro Kelenkye Band is a nice and dirty slice of afro funk with its heavy bass and bongo percussion accompanying the rough and ready vocals. What hits me on this is the switch up just before the two minute mark where the rough sound is merged with piano and then again at the three minute mark where trumpets and keyboards fill out the sound with some nice reverb added to the mix.
From the raw to the utterly sublime. Jose Mauro’s Obnoxious from the album of the same title goes through two personality changes in the first minute as it moves from big band swing to ethereal pop before hitting its stride with one of the loveliest Brazilica ballads I’ve ever put my ear to. The voice, the production, the hand claps. This track is truly gorgeous.
Next up, some synth goodness with Pied Piper Of Funkingham’s Clap Song. While the rest of PPOF’s album is decent rap disco this track comes from nowhere and is like an aural bolt from the blue. With it’s electro bass, percussion and synths the track sounds like PPOF picked up on Detroit House of the future and channelled it. So far ahead of the curve it’s hard to believe this first came out in 1978 (yep, you read that right, 1978).
Finally, because I rarely feature rap in these hodge podge posts, here’s some Kool Moe Dee to finish things off. Taken from KMD’s 1989 album Knowledge Is King, the track I Go To Work showcases a rapper still at the height of his powers ten years in the game. A blistering slice of fast rap, Kool Moe Dee doesn’t miss a beat, showing he had the skills to ride alongside the likes Rakim and Big Daddy Kane. Classic.
Anyway, that’s it from me for now. I’ll be back in a couple of weeks with all new material including, in light of the recent loss of both Isaac and Wexler, some much needed indepth looks at the Stax catalogue. Stay classy.
Birk’s Works – Kenny Burrell
from the album On View At The Five Spot on Blue Note (1959).
Scotch Blues – Kenny Burrell
from the double album Blue Lights Volumes 1 & 2 on Blue Note (1958).
My obsession with all thing Tina Brooks continues. I got into Brooks’s backstory in my post on his albums as a leader, but today let’s start to look at his career as a sideman. Burrell’s first recorded sessions as a jazz artist were both on Blue Note dates lead by guitarist Kenny Burrell. Prior to this, Brooks had worked extensively with a few different R&B bands, but I’ll stick with his jazz work for now. As I’ve stated before, I think Brooks’s greatest strength is his composition, but unfortunately, no Brooks original material appear on these dates.
“Birk’s Works” is from the August 1959 live date at the Five Spot featuring Art Blakey on drums for the whole set and Brooks on tenor for half of the tracks. I’ve never really been much of one of jazz guitar (and Burrell in particular), but KB really gets loose on this Gillespie composition with beautiful mimicry of Charlie Parker’s note bending style. Brooks counters with an ultra smooth solo that owes far more to Lester Young’s influence than The Bird. And throughout the rock-solid backing of Blakey and Bobby Timmons (piano) make for a stellar be-bop track even if our hero Tina isn’t lighting the roof on fire. (additional note: Timmons’s bookending solos are not to be ignored.)
“Scotch Blues” is from an earlier session (May 1958) and is Brooks’s first jazz recording. It is again a Burrell lead session with Blakey providing the backbeat and is one of those studio dates that is essentially a live recording with no audience. Throughout the day of recording the band shifted between a quartet and a septet and everything in between, but for this extremely playful tune we have a quintet with Brooks playing his tenor against the trumpet of Louis Smith. Again, my fascination with Brooks began with the fact that such a talent could have his albums shelved for an extensive period of time, but it has grown largely because of his composing and ability to play and interplay with other horns so well. I think Brooks has some of his best solos on the Blue Lights albums.
Still more I want to say about Tina Brooks…his ability to play well with others is best highlighted in his albums with Freddie Redd and Jackie McLean and we’ll be getting to those soon.
Follow Us On Twitter
RECENT COMMENTS