Funky16Corners Radio v.73 – Vanishing Point aka the Return of Super Soul

Funky16Corners Radio v.73 – Vanishing Point aka the Return of Super Soul

Playlist

Booker T & the MGs – Chicken Pox (Stax)
Buddy Miles – Them Changes (Mercury)
5th Dimension – Shake Your Tambourine (Bell)
Shirley Bassey – Spinning Wheel (UA)
Dorothy Norwood – Soul Train (GRC)
Bo Diddley – High Again (Checker)
Buena Vistas – Soul Ranger (Marquee)
Labelle – Lady Marmalade (Epic)
Sisters and Brothers feat Sister Geri – Chained (Calla)
Hoctor – Gold Coast (Hoctor)
Bobby Byrd – If You Don’t Work You Can’t Eat (King)
James Brown – Hot Pants Pts 2&3 (People)
Jimmy McGriff – Shaft (Groove Merchant)
Ken Munson – Rocks In My Bed (Paramount)
Mickey & the Soul Generation – Chocolate (Maxwell)
Bohannon – Truck Stop (Dakar)

To hear this mix, head on over to the Funky16Corners Radio Podcast Archive

Greetings all.

I hope all is well on your end of the interwebs.
As stated on Friday, it’s been a very busy period here at Funky16Corners headquarters, with the two sprouts headed to school, many (MANY) appointments on the books and general life type stuff piling up around me.
Among the items on the “to do” list were a new mix for this very blog, as well as an upcoming guest mix for somewhere else, as well as a rash of digi-ma-tizing and filing new arrivals and future mix contents.
Before we get started with the latest edition of the Funky16Corners Radio thang, it behooves me to note that there is a minor change in the blogroll. Last week the fine Echoes In the Wind blog was officially discomblogulated by the bureaucrats over at Blogger (one of the many reasons I abandoned that service a few years back for the elysian fields of WordPress) and he was left – as the kids say – with his cheese flapping in the wind. Not one to let tragedy get him down, Greg has reconstituted his blogging space as Echoes Again (at WordPress, natch) and the least I can do is send you good folks over his way to help him get restarted. Make sure that you click on over this Tuesday (9/8) for the grand reopening.
The mix I bring you today is something I’ve had cooking on the back burner for a while. If you follow the comings and goings here at Funky16Corners, you know that no matter how many times the Funky16Corners Radio mixes enter the realm of high concept, I always find the time to take a step back every once in a while to whip some straight ahead funk and soul on you good people.
Today’s selection, ‘Vanishing Point: The Return of Super Soul’ – aka Funky16Corners Radio v. 73 – sees us taking some very solid funk (some familiar, most not so much) and wrapping it up in bits and pieces of one of my all time favorite movies.
Things get off to a rousing start with what I would say is the greatest Meters song neither written or recorded by the giants of the Crescent City. When one thinks of someone copping a little of that Meters juice, you would imagine the suspects to be some obscure, one-off group from the funky hinterlands, instead of perhaps the greatest of all 60’s instrumental soul bands, that being Booker T & the MGs. Coming from their last LP in 1971, the incredible ‘Melting Pot’, ‘Chicken Pox’ is one of those tunes you’d just love to spring on the heads in some kind of blindfold test. The first time I heard it, ‘Chicken Pox’ made my head spin. The opening second of the song sound as if they were lifted from any early Meters 45, and when Al Jackson comes in on the drums (with Booker T joining him almost simultaneously on the organ), and Steve Cropper whips out that big, rolling guitar riff, it’s kind of hard not to imagine the boys from Memphis didn’t feel Art, George, Leo and Zig snapping at their heels. How I wish this was available on 45….
Next up is a cat (and a song) that ought to be familiar to regular visitors to this space. Drummer/singer Buddy Miles was literally and figuratively a giant, who managed to mix rock and soul as well as anyone. His best known song ‘Them Changes’, covered countless times – heard here in its original form –  is a hard charging freight train of a record, with fat, fuzzy bass, blazing horns and of course Buddy’s vocals up on top.
If you haven’t read the set list yet, give the next song a listen and see if you can figure out who it is. Were you thinking of the 5th Dimension? I actually bought the album that this song appears on for another cover (which turned out to be a completely different song than I was looking for), but when I heard this wild version of Bobby Marchan’s ‘Shake Your Tambourine’ I knew my money wasn’t wasted.
Now, if you saw the name Shirley Bassey and did a double take, listen to her take on Blood Sweat and Tears ‘Spinning Wheel’ and be reassured. It’s one of those songs that produces interesting cover versions in incongruous sources, and this is no exception. Opening with an odd bit of swirling orchestration, it’s only a few seconds before some solid bass drops in, followed by funky drums, fatback guitar and Ms. Bassey’s reliably hot vocals.
It was the night of the last Asbury Park 45 Sessions when I scored the next 45, right out of my man DJ Prestige’s sale box. Dorothy Norwood is one of the biggest gospel stars of the last 40 years, but also has the distinction of having toured with the decidedly secular Rolling Stones. I grabbed ‘Get On Board the Soul Train’ mainly because I pick up ‘Soul Train’ records wherever I find them, but this one had the extra benefit of a very funky backing (dig that guitar riff) and a very soulful vocal my Ms Norwood.
Bo Diddley’s ‘I’m High Again’ is another find from that night, coming from Mr. Pat. James Longo. One of Big Bad Bo’s wilder numbers from his late 60s period (sought after by the crate digger types in your neighborhood), ‘I’m High Again’ sees the mighty Mr. Diddley namechecking LSD over a funky beat and some wild flanged guitar in a performance guaranteed to flip the wig of anyone that never listened past the early 60’s.
A couple of weeks back I layed the absolutely deadly funk of the Buena Vista’s ‘Kick-Back’ on you, and I promised that I’d be bringing you it’s very tasty flipside in the coming weeks. Well a promise made is a promise kept, so unzip your ears and let a little bit of the ‘Soul Ranger’ slide into your sound hole. It’s got breaks, a taste of Roy Ward’s ‘Horse With a Freeze’ and some very funky, wobble-legged guitar running through the whole thing. If there ever was a solid two-sider you needed for your record box, this is it my friends.
Last week when I dropped Labelle’s version of the Who’s ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’ I made mention of the fact that I always pack three versions of ‘Lady Marmalade’ in my DJ box. Two of them – by Nanette Workman and Mongo Santamaria – are relatively obscure. The third is of course the OG, which in the language of the streets is completely and utterly unfuckwithable. Featuring production by the mighty Toussaint, and backing from the Meters, it is, despite however much overexposure you might associate with the song, a burner of the first order, and very, very funky.
Another taste of Louisiana, is the funkier side of the Sisters and Brothers Calla 45, ‘Chained’. While not as heavy as ‘Yeah You Right’ (on Uni), ‘Chained’ is a great bit of southern funk.
The next cut is a record that I’d been chasing for a long time. I’ve had a copy of the Hoctor version of the Meter’s ‘Cissy Strut’ for years, but for just as long the cut ‘Gold Coast’ has eluded me. Until, that is, it showed up in Mr. Longo’s sales stack at the 45 Sessions and I agreed to pay him whatever he thought fair in order that the record should return with me to my lair. Fortunately for me he suggested a more than acceptable price, I dug into my change purse and we made the exchange. ‘Gold Coast’ is – to coin a phrase – funky as year-old gym socks, with two distinct grooves which switch rather abruptly in the middle of the song. It pains me to think of all the time I was walking around without a copy of this 45. It’s all better now.
Speaking of 45s that I pick up whenever I come across them, the works of Mr. Bobby Byrd are high on that particular list. I dig his many collaborations with the Godfather of Soul and drop the needle on them whenever I stand behind  the wheels of steel. ‘If You Don’t Work You Can’t Eat’, with its fantabulous intro of ‘Hello jocks and friends!’ is from the socially conscious side of the JB menu, and has a churning beat, with some great guitar and electric piano bubbling up from underneath.
And how can you drop some Bobby Byrd without paying tribute to the Godfather himself? When I was down in DC last time I whipped ‘Hot Pants Pt1’ on the crowd (to great acclaim I must say) so I figured I’d flip the disc and offer up Parts 2 and 3 for your delectation.
No Funky16Corners mix is complete without a taste of Hammond, so I bring you a little something from Mr. Jimmy McGriff. If there’s a bad version of the ‘Theme From Shaft’ I have yet to hear it. Listen as Mr. McGriff and his band vamp on that famous riff, until they get to bust out into the second part of the tune. Very groovy indeed.
I’m a nut for some funky flute (I have something along those very lines jamming its way to me via the intertubes that I simply cannot wait to whip on you) and Ken Munson’s ‘Superflute’ album is a solid source thereof. Sought after by beatheads for the break in the title track, the LP has much more to offer, including some cool covers and a couple of nice originals. The tune I bring you today is in the latter category. ‘Rocks In My Bed’ is a solid slice of Blaxplo-style groove.
Mickey and the Soul Generation are best known for the mighty ‘Iron Leg’, one of my all time favorite funk 45s. If you wish to sample another very tasty groove, you need only flip that 45 over for a taste of ‘Chocolate’. Not as organ heavy as the a-side, there’s some very tasty guitar and horns on ‘Chocolate’, as well as a propulsive groove. The whole thing’s not too far removed from an early Kool and the Gang vibe.
The early 70s Dakar recordings of Hamilton Bohannon are often cited as ‘disco’ records, but that has more to do with the fact that they were played in clubs (especially overseas) than any relation to what you might think of as a disco style. ‘Truck Stop’ from the 1974 LP ‘Keep On Dancing’ is a fantastic example of his very funky, groove oriented style in which the band digs into a riff and keeps digging for several minutes. I’m definitely going to be posting more by Bohannon in the future, so stay tuned.
That’s it for this edition of Funky16Corners Radio. I hope you dig the funky sounds, and I’ll be back later in the week with something cool.

Peace

Larry

NOTE: Funky16Corners gets a nice namecheck from no less than the great Nick Hornby (author of ‘High Fidelity’ among others) on the Guardian UK website. Thanks Nick!

PPS – Make sure to fall by Iron Leg for some garage psyche

PPPS Make sure to hit up Funky16Corners on Facebook

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Sam Butera RIP

Mr. Sam Butera

“Listen – Sam Butera and the Witnesses – Ode To Billie Joe – MP3″

“Listen – Sam Butera and the Witnesses – Symphony For the Devil – MP3″

“Listen – Sam Butera and the Witnesses – Pick Up the Pieces- MP3″

Greetings all.

I hope all is well on your end.
I come to you mid-week (and a little late) with a tribute to one of the great swingers and sax-o-mo-phone slingers of all time, Mr. Sam Butera.
Last week I was browsing the New York Times obit page (a consistently interesting source of interesting reading) and was saddened to see that Mr. Butera had passed away at the age of 81.
If you’re unfamiliar with the man or his music (which has been featured here a number of times in the past), Sam Butera is best known as the bandleader and arranger for Louis Prima’s backing group the Witnesses. Butera, like Prima was a New Orleans native and brought a big helping of that city’s raucous energy to his playing.
Among other highlights in a stellar resume, Butera is the man who arranged the original ‘Just a Gigolo/I Ain’t Got Nobody’ medley that was a hit for Prima, and then again years later for David Lee Roth.
Butera was also largely responsible for making sure the Witnesses were always a smoking band (including players like unsung organ legend Little Richie Varola), and that their book was always current. Today I’m reposting three tracks by the 70s edition of the band that have been featured here over the years, including a wild reworking of the Rolling Stones’ ‘Sympathy for the Devil’, Bobbie Gentry’s ‘Ode to Billie Joe’ and a funky take on the Average White Band’s ‘Pick Up the Pieces’.
A number of years ago, completely by chance my wife and I were lucky enough to see Butera and the Witnesses laying it down in the lounge at Caesar’s Palace in Atlantic City, NJ (the same place where we saw the Treniers a year later). Even then, when Butera had to be past 70 he was still killing it, leading the band as vocalist and with his horn. It was a sight to behold, and I consider myself lucky that we got to see him.
So, dig the tunes, remember Sam and I’ll be back on Friday with something funky.

Peace

Larry

NOTE: If you haven’t yet checked out the new funk 45 mix I did for Galactic Fractures, head on over there and pull down the ones and zeros.

In other important news, this Friday, June 12th sees the return of the Asbury Park 45 Sessions for the first, slamming all-45 banger of the summer. If you are in the vicinity, please fall by and say howdy.

PS Don’t forget to head over to Iron Leg for some pop.

PSS Check out Paperback Rider too.

PSSS Don’t forget to hit up Funky16Corners on Facebook

Funky16Corners Radio v.69 – Jazz Trance

Funky16Corners Radio v.69 – Jazz Trance

Playlist

Kool and the Gang – North East South West (Dee Lite)
Wes Montgomery – Up and At It (A&M)
Woody Herman – Light My Fire (Cadet)
Jay Jackson and the Heads of Our Time – Listen Here (Mr G)
Dorothy Ashby – Little Sunflower (Cadet)
Montreal – Summertime (Stormy Forest)
Junior Mance – Thank You Falletinme Be Mice Elf Agin (Atlantic)
Peddlers – Impressions Pt1 (Philips)
Brother Jack McDuff – Mystic John (Blue Note)
Sonny Stitt – Heads or Tails (Enterprise)
Gabor Szabo – Fred and Betty (Blue Thumb)
Lonnie Smith – People Sure Act Funny (Blue Note)
Ramsey Lewis – Collage (CBS)
Doc Severinson – In the Court of the Crimson King (Command)
 

To hear this mix, head on over to the Funky16Corners Radio Podcast Archive

Greetings all.

I hope the middle of the week finds you well, and in the mood to open your ears to some downtempo grooves on a jazzy – and funky – tip.
I was going to drop this mix on Monday, but the 12” extended remix of post-op recovery got in the way, and was in a continuous loop (rocking doubles as it were). I don’t know how many among you have endured the wonders of anaesthesia and surgery (I just went through it for the sixth time in my life), but aside from the blissful ignorance of the operative pain (while the operation is happening, hopefully) the emergence from the experience takes a little while. That, and it always seems to take me a few days (often the better part of a week) to come out of the haze fully.
Good thing then that this is such a smooth, nighttime, get your head together as slowly as you like kind of mix. Aside from the banging soul party thing (prepare yourself for a killer coming soon) this might be my favorite kind of mix to put together, and yes, listen to.
Funky16Corners Radio v.69 is a counterpoint of sorts to v.68, with it’s downtempo yang grooving next to the uptempo yin of its predecessor. This is not to say that they should be listened to in sequence or anything like that, but rather a notification of sorts that they sprung from the same place in my fevered brain (and record collection).
Things get off to a moody start indeed with the electric piano, and sinuous groove of New Jersey’s own Kool and the Gang with ‘North, East, South, West’, sampled by none other than Quasimoto.
Next up is a track from an LP that I found when I was down in DC. I dig pretty much everything Wes Montgomery ever did. I love his guitar, but especially so in the many classy settings in which he played it during the 60s and early 70s. ‘Up and At It’ from his 1968 LP “Down Here On the Ground’ is a mellow killer, with a great arrangement by Eumir Deodato.
Woody Herman has appeared in many a Funky16Corners Radio mix, due in large part to the excellence of the two LPs he recorded for Cadet in the late 60s. Herman was an authentic jazz master who did what he could to keep his band together during the lean times of the 60s. Though many a jazzy tried to stay contemporary, Herman excelled, with the help of Richard Evans. His choice of material was excellent (check out his take on Sly Stone’s ‘Sex Machine’), and the execution thereof as well. His take on the Doors’ ‘Light My Fire’ features excellent sax, trumpet and trombone solos.
I had never heard of Jay Jackson and the Heads of Our Time before I grabbed a copy of their 45 while I was down in Richmond, VA. Once I got it home I was glad I did, since both sides of the disc sport excellent cover versions. It turns out that the band on this 45 is the same group that recorded a couple of in demand funk/soul LPs under the name the Majestics. The hailed from Canada, and oddly enough, the group’s namesake, Jackson, was also its vocalist and does not appear on this most excellent version of the Eddie Harris soul jazz chestnut ‘Listen Here’.
The name Dorothy Ashby should be a familiar one to those who travel the back alleys of the universe searching  for grooves. The jazz harpist, whose Cadet albums are lost classics and worth every cent of their high prices (thanks in large part to the arrangements and production by the mighty Richard Evans), made some truly beautiful music in her day. One of my fave tracks by her is a cover of Freddie Hubbard’s ‘Little Sunflower’. Covered countless times by artists like Milt Jackson, Kenny Burrell and Hank Crawford, it has a breezy feel and a beautiful melody.
Montreal were (big surprise) a Canadian group that recorded one album in 1969 for Richie Havens’ Stormy Forest label. Coveted by crate diggers for its folk-psych goodness, the album also has a jazzy side. The finest example of this is their version of George Gershwin’s ‘Summertime’. If the flute sounds familiar, it’s because it was played by none other than Jeremy Steig (Buzzy Linhart and Havens himself also guest on the album).
I’d heard of pianist Junior Mance before, but never actually heard any of his music before I scored the 45 with his version of ‘Thank You (Felettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)’. Not only does it start with a sweet little breakbeat (courtesy of Billy Cobham) but there’s some wild, fuzzed out guitar, and of course Junior’s piano rolling through the whole affair.
We follow Mr. Mance with another taste of the mighty Peddlers, with yet another segment of the tune ‘Impressions’ from their ‘Suite London’ LP. Nice drums, and especially groovy electric piano on this one. Short but sweet.
You know I ride for Brother Jack McDuff, exalted master of the Hammond groove, but even he has b-sides that I hadn’t investigated thoroughly. Case in point, ‘Mystic John’, which resides on the reverse of one of the greatest of all breakbeats ‘Hunk of Funk’. Here we get to hear Brother Jack work it out on both piano and organ, with a taste of harp in the beginning, adding to the spiritual vibe of the tune. Things pick up a little, but the overall vibe is contemplative.
Sonny Stitt is one of the really interesting cases of a serious jazz head who was forced to go the pop route to keep his head above water. He started out playing blazing alto sax in a Charlie Parker stylee, but then came the 1960s, when very few jazzers were making real coin. Stitt tried to rework his sound in a variety of settings, including recording sax solos over existing tracks for a couple of Wingate 45s (‘Agent 00 Soul’ and ‘Marrs Groove’), and recording a wide range of pop material. Until I found his cover of Booker T and the MGs ‘Heads or Tails’ I had no idea that he had recorded for Stax’s Enterprise subsidiary. It sounds like Sonny’s working it out on the Varitone sax (he used it a lot in the late 60s), and while the recording’s not earth shattering, it’s a great song and he does it justice.
Anyone hip to the jazz grooves of the 60s already has an armload of Gabor Szabo albums on labels like Impulse and Skye. However, Szabo did at least one, very nice LP for the Blue Thumb imprint. I’ve already featured the break from his cover of Charles Lloyd’s ‘Sombrero Sam’, but dig (if you will) the mellow sounds of the tune ‘Fred and Betty’.
Back in the day, when Lonnie Smith was not yet bearing the honorarium of doctor, and without his signature turban, he was still a formidable wrangler of the mighty Hammond organ. He recorded some very tasty stuff, including a version of a tune featured here a short while ago, Titus Turner’s ‘People Sure Act Funny’. It is of course an instrumental, and quite the little head nodder.
‘Collage’ is the closing track from Ramsey Lewis’ fantastic ‘Upendo ni Pamoja’ LP, one from which we’ve drawn before. While not as incendiary as ‘Slipping Into Darkness’, ‘Collage’ rolls along at a nice, relaxed groove, and seriously, I could listen to Ramsey work that Rhodes all day long.
This edition of the Funky16Corners Radio podcast closes out with something a little bit over the top, bot of course every bit essential. I speak of Doc Severinson’s epic treatment of the King Crimson’s ‘In the Court of the Crimson King’. Doc manages to remove the song from it’s super heavy, glue sniffing prog bombast, and refit it with a snappy new set of threads, making it a lot less “arena full of stoned grad students”, and a lot more “slightly cheesy version of the Concierto di Aranjuez”. When I say slightly cheesy, I only do so because there’s a certain loss of, how do they say “authenticity” when the leader of the Tonight Show band decides to try on this kind of material. That said, it’s very groovy in an LA 1970 studio jazz kind of way, which isn’t surprising when you take a look at the serious players on the session. I’ve been picking up Doc’s late 60’s/early 70’s stuff when I find it, and I have to say that most of the records have something cool to offer.
Remember, if you haven’t yet checked out the Funky16Corners feature at Dust and Grooves, please do so. Also, the Funky16Corners Radio Show at Viva Internet Radio will return once again this Thursday evening at 9PM.
I hope you dig the mix, and I’ll be back on Monday with something cool.

Peace

Larry

PS – Make sure to fall by Iron Leg

PSS Make sure to hit up Funky16Corners on Facebook

Funky16Corners Radio v.68 – A New Note

Funky16Corners Radio v.68 – A New Note

Playlist

Blackbyrds – Spaced Out (Fantasy)
1972 Verona High School Jazz Ensemble – Synthesis (edit)
Woody Herman – Smiling Phases (Cadet)
Doc Severinson – Footprints of the Giant (edit) (Command)
Lou Donaldson – Caterpillar (Blue Note)
Grant Green – California Green (Blue Note)
Backyard Heavies – Soul Junction (Scepter)
Gene Harris – Don’t Call Me N*gger Whitey (Blue Note)
1970 Ohio State University Jazz Ensemble – Far West Suite Pt1
Ernie Wilkins Big Band – Big Foot Blues (Mainstream)
The Peddlers – Working Again (Philips)
Lou Donaldson – (Don’t Worry) If There’s a Hell Below We’re All Going to Go (Blue Note)

To hear this mix, head on over to the Funky16Corners Radio Podcast Archive

Two Soulful Odes

Mr. Joe Tex

Mr. Sam Butera

“Listen – Joe Tex – Ode To Billie Joe – MP3″

“Listen – Sam Butera and the Witnesses – Ode To Billie Joe – MP3″

Greetings all.

Welcome to the middle of the week, wherein we dip into the crates for a couple of very tasty versions of one of my all time favorite songs, that being ‘Ode to Billie Joe’.
The OG by Bobbie Gentry is one of the truly great singles of the 60s, and as any dedicated crate digger will tell you, hugely influential by virtue of the countless covers of the song.
While I don’t seek out covers of ‘Ode…’ the way I might with ‘Soul Makossa’, if I pick up an LP and there’s a version of the song on it, it goes right into the keeper pile.
The two takes I bring you today are among my fave covers of ‘Ode…’, one an instrumental and the second a great, soulful vocal.
Joe Tex was of course one of the truly great soul and funk singers of the 60s and 70s. Though Tex was a gifted songwriter, he was also a great interpreter of other people’s material, case in point his 1968 recording of ‘Ode to Billie Joe’.
Where the classic arrangement of the Gentry original – employed as a template by countless other versions – rolls along as slowly as the muddy river in the song, Tex’s take, recorded in Memphis at American Studios is propelled forward by an aggressive rhythm guitar figure and interjections by the horn section. The real not-so-secret ingredient here however is Tex’s vocal. Removing it from the sultry framework of Gentry’s version, Tex rocks out, punching up the lyrics in unusual places, adding soulful interjections (“Black eyes peas. That’s soul food you know what I’m talking about!”) and reimagining the backwoods southern gothic with a dose of funk.
Louis Prima is best known as the man who unconsciously gave David Lee Roth his second wind, but he was much more than that. He started out as a jazz trumpeter before rocketing to fame with then-wife Keely Smith in the 1950s. Though his last high-profile gig was providing voice talent for Walt Disney’s ‘Jungle Book’, Prima remained a steady draw in Las Vegas and on the road for the rest of his life until he was felled by a stroke in 1978.
Aside from his female foils – Smith and later on Gia Maione – Prima’s main on stage partner was saxophonist and bandleader Sam Butera. Butera and his band the Witnesses were a hot live act, at one time including unsung Hammond organ hero Little Richie Varola.
The Butera and the Witnesses version of ‘Ode to Billie Joe’ features a funky rhythm section and a wailing lead guitar. Their version (from 1975) is a great showcase for the fact that no matter how much Prima stayed the same, Butera liked to keep things current with the band.
I hope you dig the tunes, and I’ll be back on Friday.

Peace

Larry

PS Don’t forget to head over to Iron Leg for some tunes from a classic film.

PSS Check out Paperback Rider too.

PSSS Don’t forget to hit up Funky16Corners on Facebook

Funky16Corners Radio v.64 – Numbers

Funky16Corners Radio v.64 – Numbers (Downtempo Excursion)

Playlist

Neal Creque – Kenya (Cobblestone)
Overton Berry Trio – Guacamolean Shuffle (Jaro)
Meters – Stormy (Josie)
Richard Groove Holmes – Heavy Groove (World Pacific Jazz)
The Peddlers – Impressions Part 3 (Philips)
El Chicano – Viva Tirado (Kapp)
Freddy McCoy – One Cylinder (Prestige)
Lowell Fulsom – Pico (Kent)
Rotary Connection – Respect (Cadet Concept)
Cals – Stand Tall (Loadstone)
Jackie Edwards & Soulmakers – Che Che (Daran)
Brother Jack McDuff – Moon Rappin’ (Blue Note)
Marlena Shaw – Woman of the Ghetto (Blue Note)
Cymande – The Message (Janus)
Art Jerry Miller – Moon Shot (Enterprise)
Roy Meriwether Trio – What’s the Buzz (Notes of Gold)
Merl Saunders Trio – Ode to Billie Joe (Galaxy)
Billy Larkin – Light My Fire (Pacific Jazz)

To hear this mix, head on over to the Funky16Corners Radio Podcast Archive

Greetings all.

I come to you today in an unusual state of spiritual relaxation. For this we can thank both a day spent at home with my sons, and also the fact that the three of us witnessed (along with the rest of the world) the inauguration of President Barack Obama.
Heavy stuff in both cases, in the micro and macro, each one pushing me along – in its own way – in a new, satisfying direction.
The mix I bring you today, the first Funky16Corners Radio podcast of 2009, is something that I had percolating in the background for a long time, setting tracks aside as they were digimatized. The concept of the mix fully formed from the beginning, but the contents amassing gradually.
Late last week, when I saw the aforementioned events on the horizon, I thought to myself that there would be no better time to stitch the mix together.
I’m often tempted to drop something mellow in an attempt to soothe the tortured psyche (my own and those of others), usually after a particularly difficult week. This time out, the quiet, downtempo vibe of the mix is not intended as a balm (though it can and should be applied in that capacity as needed) but rather as a marker (dare I say ‘celebration’) of a new chapter in my life, and in the lives of my fellow citizens. It is a proclamation of sorts, in which the sounds have been assembled, and are presented as evidence of new equilibrium. A slice of the vibe, if you will, and at well over an hour, quite a generous slice at that.
This is a keyboard heavy mix, with lots of piano (acoustic and electric), much Hammond organ (who among you didn’t see that coming) and a couple of unusual vocal numbers.
There is an – extremely subtle – underpinning of funk, with lots of crisp drums, and plenty of soul (jazz).
We get things rolling with the meditative ‘Kenya’, from Neal Creque, from his self-titled Cobblestone LP. The album, which is excellent all the way through, is proof that although Creque is best known as a sideman (Grant Green, Mongo Santamaria), he had plenty to offer as a leader.
Next up is the interestingly titled ‘Guacamolean Shuffle’ from Pacific Northwest pianist Overton Berry and his trio.
If you haven’t already read the playlist, give the next track – a cover of the Classics IVs ‘Stormy’ – a listen, and see if you can guess who it is, I’ll bet the Meters weren’t at the top of your list.
If the bext cut – ‘Heavy Groove’ by Richard Groove Holmes – sounds familiar, it’s because it’s a reworking of Horace Silver’s soul jazz classic ‘Song for My Father’. It hails from Holmes’ ‘Live at the Lighthouse’ LP.
I continue my attempt to spread the word about the mighty Peddlers, with the inclusion of a brief interlude from their sought after ‘Suite London’ LP, ‘Impressions Part 3’.
One of the few tracks on this mix to have made a dent in the charts, El Chicano’s cover of Gerald Wilson’s ‘Viva Tirado’ is a classic.
Next up is another Funky16Corners favorite, vibraphonist Freddie McCoy with the groovy ‘One Cylinder’.
If the next track sounds familiar, it’s because Lowell Fulsom’s ‘Pico’ is the instrumental b-side of the classic ‘Tramp’. I’ve always dug ‘Pico’ for it’s somewhat haunting vibe, and I have to apologize for not having a less timeworn copy of the 45.
Things take something of a left turn with a selection from a group featured here in the last few weeks, Rotary Connection. Though some of their covers tend to go in strange directions, I think their version of Otis Redding’s ‘Respect’ is right on the money.
We head out to the San Fran Bay area for the haunting – yet groovy – organ instrumental, ‘Stand Tall’ by the Cals, yet another gem of a record that I was turned on to courtesy of my man Haim.
I’ve never been able to turn up much info on the group Jackie Edwards and Soulmakers, other than that they appear to have hailed from the Chicago area. They recorded a couple of very nice soul jazz 45s, that are definitely worth your while to track down.
If you stop by here on the reg, you are definitely familiar with the work of Hammond legend Brother Jack McDuff. The cut we bring you today is the title cut from his masterpiece, ‘Moon Rappin’. The album is a brilliant, funky, far out slice of late 60s soul jazz, and unlike almost every other Hammond record in my crates, is a start to finish listening experience.
We return to the vocal side of things with one of Miss Marlena Shaw’s finest Cadet 45s, ‘Woman of the Ghetto’, featuring a dynamite Richard Evans arrangement.
The other track in this edition of Funky16Corners Radio to have glanced the charts (in the winter of 1973) is the Message by Cymande. If you haven’t checked out the multi-layered sounds of Cymande (well represented in reissue) then you should do so post haste. They mixed funk, soul, jazz and reggae for one of the most unique and memorable sounds of the 70s.
Memphis organist Art Jerry Miller recorded a cool but hard to find LP for the Stax offshoot Enterprise in 1970. Miller worked extensively with Willie Mitchell at Hi Records, and reportedly it’s that label’s house band that backs him on ‘Moonshot’.
Pianist Roy Meriwether recorded several excellent LPs through the 60s and 70s. One of his finer small-label efforts is the rare ‘Jesus Christ Superstar Goes Jazz’ on the Notes of Gold label. ‘What’s the Buzz’ is a reworking of a tune from the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical.
Next up is a groovy cover of Bobbi Gentry’s ‘Ode to Billie Joe’ by the late Merl Saunders. The album that this track hails from was one of my personal white whales, and like Ahab, I chased it far and wide before finally (and I should note, with a bit of poetic justice) grabbing it from a friend for a very reasonable price.
Things come to a conclusion with a tune by another Pacific Northwest keyboard hero, Mr. Billy Larkin. He recorded several albums of soul jazz with his group the Delegates, as well as some as a solo. His version of the Doors ‘Light My Fire’ appeared on the 1969 LP ‘I Got the Feelin’.
That all said, I hope you dig this edition of Funky16Corners Radio, and I’ll be back on Monday with something cool.

Peace

Larry

PS Make sure to stop by Iron Leg

PSS Check out Paperback Rider as well

Mary Lou Williams – The Credo

Miss Mary Lou Williams

“Listen – Mary Lou Williams – The Credo – MP3″

Greetings all.

I come to you in mid-week with something unusual.
If you’ve done any reading about the classic years of American jazz*, you probably came across the name Mary Lou Williams.
Williams was – in addition to her skills as a pianist, there are those that rank her among the best – a composer, and teacher who counted none other than Thelonious Monk among her students.
Williams, born in Atlanta in 1910, grew up in Pittsburgh, PA, where she became something of a jazz piano prodigy, playing professionally at the age of 14. As her career progressed, she joined Andy Kirk’s Cloud of Joy (mainly as a composer and arranger). It was with Kirk that she ended up in Kansas City during that city’s prime jazz years.
She made her first recordings in the early 30s, and spent much of the next two decades writing and arranging for a number of bands (including Duke Ellington’s) and playing in nightclubs and on the radio in New York City. It was in New York that she crossed paths with many of the movers and shakers of BeBop. Including Monk and Dizzy Gillespie.
Williams spent much of the 50s and 60s composing, arranging and playing jazz with religious themes, much of which was released on her own Mary Records.
‘The Credo’ – I’m not sure if this directly corresponds with the movement of the same title in ‘Mary Lou’s Mass’ – is a great slice of laid back, funky piano, with a throbbing bass, and soulful keyboard work by Williams. ‘The Credo’ sounds to me like it comes from the period of 1970 – 1974 when Williams was releasing ‘Mary Lou’s Mass’, ‘Music For Peace’ and ‘Zoning’ (all sought after by fans of jazzy grooves).
Williams passed away in 1981.
I hope you dig the tune, and I’ll see you all on Friday.

Peace
Larry

*Or, if you grew up in my house, where my Dad gave me a serious education on jazz, up to and including female pianists (like Mary Lou Williams and Marian McPartland) he admired

PS Remember, the Asbury Park 45 Sessions returns this Friday October 3rd with the AP45 Crew and guest selectors TBA. Come on down to the World Famous Asbury Lanes.

PSS Don’t forget to head over to Iron Leg

PSSS Check out Paperback Rider as well (just updated).

Isaac Hayes RIP

The Master, Isaac Hayes

“Listen – Isaac Hayes – Walk On By – MP3″

Greetings all.

I come to you bearing some sad news (and a previously unscheduled post).
The mighty Isaac Hayes has passed away.
Known to most for his Oscar winning ‘Theme from Shaft’, Hayes was a major cog in the Stax soul music machine in the 60’s.
Along with his partner David Porter, Hayes wrote a grip of amazing songs for Sam & Dave, including ‘Soul Man’, ‘Hold On I’m Comin’, ‘You Don’t Know Like I Know’, ‘I Thank You’ (that’s Hayes on the clavinet-y keyboard line) as well as ‘B-A-B-Y- for Carla Thomas and one of my all time favorite 45s ‘Your Good Thing (Is About To End) by Mable John (and later by Lou Rawls).
Hayes later stepped out from behind the scenes for a very successful solo career, at one point his releases pulling the very overextended Stax organization from the brink of insolvency.
The peak of this period was 1969s ‘Hot Buttered Soul’ and its epic reworking of the Bacharach/David classic ‘Walk On By’. Abetted by the Bar-Kays, Hayes removes the song from the elegant pathos of the Dionne Warwick version, drenches it in a quiet storm of strings and tasteful horns, all set against a tripped out fuzz guitar motif*. Hayes’ ‘Walk on By’ is one of the finest soul records of all time, period (as well as the definitive recording of the song). It was a Top 20 hit in the Fall of 1969, his biggest hit until ‘Shaft’ in 1971.
He will be missed.
See you on Tuesday for Vinyl Record Day.
Peace
Larry

*Haye’s version of ‘Walk On By’ was sampled many, MANY times…

PSS Don’t forget to head over to Iron Leg for some groovy garage pop

PSSS Check out Paperback Rider (which has just been updated) as well.

Funky16Corners Guests at Fleamarket Funk

To hear this mix, head on over to the Funky16Corners Guest Mix Archive

Greetings all.
As promised, I’m sending you over to DJ Prestige’s Fleamarket Funk blog for my contribution to his ongoing guest mix series. My mix, ‘The Six Million Dollar Groove’ is a collection of funky and soulful jazz sounds that ought to get your week off to an energetic start.
So, head on over to Fleamarket Funk, check out the mix and when you’re done, stick around and check out my man Prestige’s own mixes and individual tracks. He’s got a good thing going over there, and if you dig it here, you’ll surely find something you’ll like over at FMF.
That said, I hope you dig the mix and I’ll back later in the week.

Peace
Larry

GO NOW!! – FUNKY16CORNERS GUESTS AT FLEAMARKET FUNK

Funky16Corners Radio v.47 – Cosmic Sea

To infinity, and beyond!

Funky16Corners Radio v.47 – Cosmic Sea

Playlist

Mystic Moods – Cosmic Sea (WB)
Miles Davis – Spanish Key (45 Edit) (Columbia)
Jackson 5 – I’ll Bet You (Motown)
Miles Davis – Miles Runs the Voodoo Down (45 Edit) (Columbia)
Jose Feliciano – Light My Fire (RCA)
Herbie Mann – If I Were a Carpenter (Atlantic)
BB King – Ghetto Woman (ABC)
Herbie Hancock – Tell Me a Bedtime Story (WB)
Ramsey Lewis – Slipping Into Darkness (CBS)
Brother Jack McDuff – Flat Backin’ (Blue Note)
Freddie McCoy – Salem Soul Song (Prestige)
Johnny Hammond – Rock Steady (Kudu)
Dorothy Ashby – Soul Vibrations (Cadet)

To hear this mix, head on over to the Funky16Corners Radio Podcast Archive

Greetings all.
I hope the new week finds you all well.
I’m posting this a little bit early today becausemy allergy related headaches are still kicking my ass (head, whatever) and I expended much of my available energy digging at the local record fair, stockpiling a bunch of funk and soul for here and garage and psyche for Iron Leg. I’ll be digi-ma-tizing it all soon, so there’ll be a lot to look forward to.
Today I bring you a new edition of the Funky16Corners Radio podcast, number 47 to be exact; ‘Cosmic Sea’.
Like some of the previous mixes I’ve laid on you, this was less a pre-planned “theme” effort than the product of inspirado crossed with several fairly random piles of records (45s and LPs). This is not to say that once things got going I didn’t hit the crates looking for a specific side to throw into the pot, but that what came out at the end was somewhat different than what I started with.
This has a lot to do with a couple of recent acquisitions. The landscape of my record room is a cluttered maelstrom of vinyl that no one – not even myself – understands completely. On the desk adjacent to my turntable and computer – wherein all the digi-ma-tization takes place – there are several rotating stacks of wax; a mixture of things that I’ve put aside for future use (either individually or as part of a mix), newly dug records and – of course – lots of stuff I haven’t gotten around to putting away yet.
When I hit the Asbury Lanes record swap a few weeks ago I picked up copies of a couple of things that I’d been looking for on vinyl (the Jackson Five, Ramsey Lewis and Johnny Hammond LPs especially). These got me in the mood to get a mix together, thus the internal formulation began. Then, a few days later the mailman brought me my shiny, minty copy of ‘The Cosmic Sea’ by the Mystic Moods and things really got rolling.
I decided then that I was going to go for something that started with a bang but quickly relocated to downtempo territory, with an emphasis on the groove. A few hours later and I had all of the raw material for this particular mix burned to disc, and set it next to the ‘podcast lab’ (i.e. the laptop in the living room) for use the following night.
When I began assembling the mix a few of the tracks I had recorded ended up on the scrap heap (at least temporarily) and I grabbed a couple of things from the hard drive.
When the mix was finished I was definitely pleased (as I hope you will be as well) and have been listening to the mix repeatedly for the last week and a half (I like to stagger the mixes on my two blogs, which is why it hasn’t been posted sooner).
Things get rolling – after a sound bite by the late great Carl Sagan – with the aforementioned Mystic Moods 45. I have to admit that I was largely ignorant of this record until recently. I had certainly heard of it, but it wasn’t until my man DJ Prestige let it rip during his last Asbury Park 45 Sessions set that I knew I had to have it. Fortunately for me a copy came up for bid on E-Bay shortly after that and I bagged it. The Mystic Moods made a bunch of easy/mood LPs during the 60’s and 70’s. Knowing that, the sounds on ‘Cosmic Sea’ are a solid kick in the head, sounding as if DJ Shadow hopped in the Waybac Machine and whipped a little funky turntable action on the squares. This is a stone killer, with the funky breaks, the clavinet and the soulful wailing in the background (not to mention a synth sound that would be resurrected by no less than Rush a decade later).
Things get a little darker with the first of two Miles Davis 45 edits from the Bitches Brew LP. I found this record years ago and have wanted to use it on the blog for a while. The first tune, ‘Spanish Key’ is the more offbeat of the two, and a testament to the editing abilities of Teo Macero. You have to admire the chutzpah of a man who could wade into the mountain of tape that became ‘Bitches Brew’ and squeeze two 45 sides – less than three minutes apiece – out of it.
Emerging from the Miles trumpet comes an unusual side by the Jackson Five. One of the many versions of the Funkadelic classic ‘I’ll Bet You’ (some – like Theresa Lindsey and Billy Butler –  recorded before Funkadelic), the Jacksons version may not be quite as freaky as Mr. Clinton and his pals, but it’s WAY freaky for little Michael and his brothers, with the fuzz guitar, the moaning and the crazy screams.
We segue back into the other side of the Miles 45, ‘Miles Runs the Voodoo Down’ which is a touch more peaceful, showing (distant) traces of his earlier electric work on ‘In a Silent Way’.
Getting mellower yet, Miles gives way to one of my favorite records of the 1960’s, Jose Feliciano’s cover of the Doors’ ‘Light My Fire’. Feliciano’s vocal is nothing if not soulful and the arrangement, with his acoustic guitar balanced/blended with the string section is a little bit of magic.
Bare-chested flute wrangler Herbie Mann was a seriously prolific artist during the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. Say what you will about jazzers going pop, but I have a grip of Herbie’s LPs and they all have something very groovy to recommend them. His subdued 1968 take on Tim Hardin’s standard ‘If I Were a Carpenter’ opens with a great, throbbing bass line by Miroslav Vitous and runs on with lots of flute and the ringing vibes of Roy Ayers.
Despite the fact that B.B. King’s 1971 ‘Ghetto Woman’ was recorded in the UK with an all-star group of rock performers, the Dave Clark who co-wrote the tune is not THAT Dave Clark. Nonetheless, ‘Ghetto Woman’ is a wonderfully dark and moody record with King’s classy guitar soloing under a periodically heavy (dig that echoed string bass) string section.
‘Tell me a Bedtime Story’ is another track from Herbie Hancock’s 1968 ‘Fat Albert Rotunda’ LP. Whereas the track I used in the last mix was on the funky side, ‘Tell Me..’ sees Herbie working his Rhodes magic in a mellow groove alongside a great horn section.
Yet another Asbury Lanes find, Ramsey Lewis’ version of War’s ‘Slipping Into Darkness’ is a fantastic, downtempo electric piano feature with bass by Cleveland Eaton and drums by Morris Jennings Jr. Ramsey really stretches it out here for a smoky, late night feel. It’s a funky funk, but a slow funky funk, if you know what I mean and I think you do.
How does one follow a long, groovy track by one of the keyboard masters of the jazz age? How about an even longer track by another master? ‘Flat Backin’ (clocking in at over 10 minutes) is another track from Brother Jack McDuff’s amazing 1969 ‘Moon Rappin’ LP, one of the most innovatively played and arranged organ dates in the history of the Blue Note label (or any label for that matter). Though much of the album has a free-form (but never “out”) feel, you just have to sit back and marvel as Brother Jack and his band (including drummer Joe Dukes) slip in and out of the funk. Sit back, relax and wait for a very tasty break in this one.
Freddie McCoy made some wonderful albums for the Prestige label in the 60’s. They’re hard to come by, so I grab them wherever I can. ‘Salem Soul Song’ appears on the ‘Soul Yogi’ LP, alongside his stellar cover of the Beach Boys ‘Pet Sounds’.
Johnny Hammond Smith’s 1971 cover of Aretha Franklin’s ‘Rock Steady’ is, like the Ramsey Lewis track earlier on a great example of slow funky grooves, with an excellent break by none other than Bernard Purdie. There’s a lot to recommend on this LP, maybe the finest on the Kudu label.
As I mentioned before, I pulled a track off of the hard drive, and Dorothy Ashby’s ‘Soul Vibrations’ is it. I previously included it as part of a guest mix I did for the Souled On blog, but when I was thinking of what tune to finish up this podcast with it came to mind immediately. Ashby’s Richard Evans-produced Cadet records are all wonderful, but ‘Soul Vibrations’ is positively sublime, mixing wild elements like theremin with solid beats and – of course – her harp. It’s all worth hanging in for the last ten seconds of the record which are absolute perfection.
That said, I hope you dig the mix.
I’ll be back later in the week.

Peace
Larry

PS Head over to Iron Leg for some local 60’s Punk.