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IT’S RAINING WHALES: RAY ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE

2013-02-09 23:31:00 (читать в оригинале)

Ray Alexander Technique: My Special One
I Don’t Bite
From Let’s Talk (Harlem Sound, 1970)

Arguably one of the best independent label soul releases of the early 1970s, the Ray Alexander Technique was lead by guitarist Alexander and despite being a solidly soul/funk album, most of the musicians who played on here seemed to come more from the jazz world including organist Billy Gardner and pianist George Stubbs. If the credits are to be believed, the vocalist isn’t Alexander but Chris Bartley, formerly of the Ad Libs and someone with a few 7″s to his name prior to rolling with The Technique.

The single off here was “Let’s Talk” which came out on 7″ and the LP features both the vocal and instrumental version but to be honest: it’s just not my bag even though it’s a perfectly serviceable mid-tempo funk cut. Instead, like many, I instantly gravitated to “My Special One” and its luscious opening guitars and piano. It’s very lo-fi which somehow enhances the song, reminding me a little of Guitar Red, albeit without the synths.

Right up there with “My Special One” is the mid-tempo crossover track, “I Don’t Bite” (always a good opening line when kicking game to someone).

Oh, and did I mention how kick ass the album cover art is?

Ray Alexander Technique: My Special One
I Don’t Bite
From Let’s Talk (Harlem Sound, 1970)

Arguably one of the best independent label soul releases of the early 1970s, the Ray Alexander Technique was lead by guitarist Alexander and despite being a solidly soul/funk album, most of the musicians who played on here seemed to come more from the jazz world including organist Billy Gardner and pianist George Stubbs. If the credits are to be believed, the vocalist isn’t Alexander but Chris Bartley, formerly of the Ad Libs and someone with a few 7″s to his name prior to rolling with The Technique.

The single off here was “Let’s Talk” which came out on 7″ and the LP features both the vocal and instrumental version but to be honest: it’s just not my bag even though it’s a perfectly serviceable mid-tempo funk cut. Instead, like many, I instantly gravitated to “My Special One” and its luscious opening guitars and piano. It’s very lo-fi which somehow enhances the song, reminding me a little of Guitar Red, albeit without the synths.

Right up there with “My Special One” is the mid-tempo crossover track, “I Don’t Bite” (always a good opening line when kicking game to someone).

Oh, and did I mention how kick ass the album cover art is?

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IT’S RAINING WHALES: INELL YOUNG

2013-02-09 23:31:00 (читать в оригинале)

Inell Young: What Do You See In Her
From 7″ (Libra, 1960s). Also on New Orleans Funk Vol. 2

After being on the hunt for this for 5.5 years, it’s probably the oldest white whale I had left (I think the San Francisco TKOs now creeps into that pole position). I wrote extensively about this back in 2007 and don’t want to repeat too much from there (especially the contested back story behind the song, which is fascinating in and of itself). I will say that this doesn’t merely rank amongst my favorite NOLA songs of all time (which is saying a lot) but it’s right up there with the best female funk tunes I know. Somewhere between Gus Lewis’s tight/snappy rhythms, Young’s “hoo hop hop hop!” and the general pathos of the song, this is magical to me.

Inell Young: What Do You See In Her
From 7″ (Libra, 1960s). Also on New Orleans Funk Vol. 2

After being on the hunt for this for 5.5 years, it’s probably the oldest white whale I had left (I think the San Francisco TKOs now creeps into that pole position). I wrote extensively about this back in 2007 and don’t want to repeat too much from there (especially the contested back story behind the song, which is fascinating in and of itself). I will say that this doesn’t merely rank amongst my favorite NOLA songs of all time (which is saying a lot) but it’s right up there with the best female funk tunes I know. Somewhere between Gus Lewis’s tight/snappy rhythms, Young’s “hoo hop hop hop!” and the general pathos of the song, this is magical to me.

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IT’S RAINING WHALES: ASHA PUTHLI & THE SURFERS

2013-02-09 23:31:00 (читать в оригинале)

Asha Puthli and the Surfers: Sunny
Angel of the Morning
From 7″ EP (Columbia India, 1960s)

It’s been a pretty remarkable last few weeks, record-wise. I’ve managed to scratch off any number of long-time white whales/holy grails off my want list and the fact that they’re all happening in the same time frame has been surprising (not to mention $$$). Rains + Pours-related.

This Asha Puthli release is one I’ve been after for at least 2-3 years (thus making it a minor white whale; call it a beluga). I’ve been writing about Asha since the earliest days of the blog as well as more recently and this record, her very first, has eluded me much of that time. It’s an obscure enough record to begin with, recorded back when no one had a clue who Asha was and backed by a mod/rock band in Singapore called The Surfers. The fact that she even had a record career after this is likely due to other factors than the “success” of this single (though the fact that it got pressed up on two different labels suggests at least some folks were listening).

The EP has four songs, all covers: “Angel of the Morning,” “The Sounds of Silence,” “Sunny” and “Fever.” I included what I thought were the best two tracks above.1 Her cover of Bobby Hebb’s classic “Sunny” is really solid and The Surfers get to jam on some long solos too. And while her version of “Angel of the Morning” won’t top, say, Nina Simone’s, I think it’s quite lovely regardless.

The thing with this record is that the Singapore EMI version has a pic sleeve which means while I’m simply happy to have this record…it stays on the want list. Yeah, I know, it’s a sickness.

1. “Fever” wasn’t nearly as scintillating as you might expect; it’s more like a torch rendition and as for “The Sounds of Silence,” let’s just say it’s not my favorite of the Simon and Garfunkel catalog. ↩

Asha Puthli and the Surfers: Sunny
Angel of the Morning
From 7″ EP (Columbia India, 1960s)

It’s been a pretty remarkable last few weeks, record-wise. I’ve managed to scratch off any number of long-time white whales/holy grails off my want list and the fact that they’re all happening in the same time frame has been surprising (not to mention $$$). Rains + Pours-related.

This Asha Puthli release is one I’ve been after for at least 2-3 years (thus making it a minor white whale; call it a beluga). I’ve been writing about Asha since the earliest days of the blog as well as more recently and this record, her very first, has eluded me much of that time. It’s an obscure enough record to begin with, recorded back when no one had a clue who Asha was and backed by a mod/rock band in Singapore called The Surfers. The fact that she even had a record career after this is likely due to other factors than the “success” of this single (though the fact that it got pressed up on two different labels suggests at least some folks were listening).

The EP has four songs, all covers: “Angel of the Morning,” “The Sounds of Silence,” “Sunny” and “Fever.” I included what I thought were the best two tracks above.1 Her cover of Bobby Hebb’s classic “Sunny” is really solid and The Surfers get to jam on some long solos too. And while her version of “Angel of the Morning” won’t top, say, Nina Simone’s, I think it’s quite lovely regardless.

The thing with this record is that the Singapore EMI version has a pic sleeve which means while I’m simply happy to have this record…it stays on the want list. Yeah, I know, it’s a sickness.

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TROUBLESHOOT US?

2013-02-09 23:30:00 (читать в оригинале)

The site has been loading annoyingly slow for weeks now but I can’t seem to find the cause. I reduced the number of posts per page from 8 down to 4 and stripped off as many extraneous plugins as I could spare but it doesn’t seem to help. I’ve now taken off the exfm music player to see if that will help though I always thought that was a boon to readers.

Anyone with better web skills than me able to do some kind of diagnostic and figure out what the heck is going on? Much appreciated!

–O.W.

The site has been loading annoyingly slow for weeks now but I can’t seem to find the cause. I reduced the number of posts per page from 8 down to 4 and stripped off as many extraneous plugins as I could spare but it doesn’t seem to help. I’ve now taken off the exfm music player to see if that will help though I always thought that was a boon to readers.

Anyone with better web skills than me able to do some kind of diagnostic and figure out what the heck is going on? Much appreciated!

–O.W.

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THE MANY FLIGHTS OF DONALD BYRD

2013-02-09 23:30:00 (читать в оригинале)

This isn’t some grand insight but what I find remarkable about the career of the late Donald Byrd was his ability to span so many different phases of jazz. For a cat who started in the bebop era, he bridged from there into post-bop, dabbled a bit in free, became one of the giants of the soul jazz era, and then became a massive force during the heyday of fusion. The vast majority of artists – of any genre – have trouble transitioning between even micro-changes in musical styles.1 Donald Byrd stayed relevant for at least 20 years. That’s as impressive a feat as I’ve seen by any artist above or below the platinum line.

The following playlist is absolutely not meant to be comprehensive. There’s dozens of songs I could have included but opted not to, either because they seemed so obvious to replay them would be redundant or, more to the point: they weren’t my favorites. But even this modest sampling gives you the idea of the astonishing range of Byrd’s musical genius.

Donald Byrd: Low Life
From Fuego (Blue Note, 1959)

I could have started with a song far earlier in Byrd’s career but my point here is to establish his bop/post-bop certifiers with a spry, swinging tune that reminds me of Bobby Timmons best work.

Donald Byrd: Cristo Redentor
From A New Perspective (Blue Note, 1963)

Byrd + gospel choir = sublime. And cinematic, no? Couldn’t you imagine this in some spaghetti western where our hero walks atop a sand dune, the sun setting at his back? Have I been watching too many Leone films?

Also: best cover ever.

Donald Byrd: House of the Rising Sun
From Up With Donald Byrd (Verve, 1964)

The best known song off this album is probably the cover of Herbie Hancock’s “Cantaloupe Island” but thanks to US3, I can’t really bear to listen to it much. I do like this cover of “House of the Rising Sun” though. No only does it draw from the same choral backing that we heard on A New Perspective but you can begin to hear the hints of the coming soul-jazz movement. It’s the small, subtle things in the rhythm that you’ll hear even more so on…

Donald Byrd: Blackjack
From Blackjack (Blue Note, 1967)

And here we are. It’s not upside your dome funky but clearly, it’s working in that vein, especially with the hard hammer of Cedar Walton’s piano. But heck, let’s take it a step further and let the drummer get some.

Donald Byrd: Weasil
From Fancy Free (Blue Note, 1969)

The first thing that strikes you is that Duke Pearson is tickling the Rhodes on here, apparently the first time Byrd allowed an electric piano to roll in. Combine that with the more aggressive breakbeats by drummer Joe Chambers and “Weasil” belongs firmly in the soul-jazz era that’s since been enshrined through comps like Blue Break Beats and Jazz Dance Classics.

Donald Byrd: The Little Rasti
From Ethiopian Knights (Blue Note, 1972)

To me, Ethiopian Knights represents the deepest Byrd got into this era of the soul-jazz sound before moving more towards proto-disco fusion style. Nearly 18 minutes long, nothing “little” about this.

Donald Byrd: Where Are We Going?
From Black Byrd (Blue Note, 1972)

With this album, Byrd minted a smash and established himself as one of the masterminds of a sound that blended jazz, soul, funk and disco. Black Byrd was, in many ways, a total blueprint for the next five years, not just of Byrd’s career, but the direction of jazz and R&B as a whole. For me, I definitely hear some What’s Going On? elements at play but the sheer smoothness of the track also hints at what you’d hear with yacht rock by the late 1970s. It’s all right here.

By the way, I’m going to skip over Street Lady even though it was an important/successful album, yada yada. The only thing I want to say is that the title track is an interesting “throwback” to Byrd’s sound from about five years before. It’s like a retro-hard-bop tune.

Donald Byrd: Wind Parade
From Places and Spaces (Blue Note, 1975)

The Mizell brothers era of Byrd’s career is perhaps his best known to most hip-hop fans given the sheer number of samples that emerged from it. Anyone up on my site should already have “Wind Parade” in heavy rotation but this is one case where I can’t not include it in here. Any song that helps power one of the greatest remixes in hip-hop history deserves that much.

The Blackbyrds: Mysterious Vibes
From Action (Fantasy, 1977)

At some point in the early 1970s Byrd landed a production deal with Fantasy Records and from that, he assembled a group of former Howard University students and they became the Blackbyrds. By the mid 1970s, though Byrd was still recording on his own, he was arguably experiencing more success in producing other groups, especially the Blackbyrds who had a string of hits I’m sure all of you are familiar. “Rock Creek Park” remains a constant staple for any good disco set but I threw in “Mysterious Vibes” here because 1) I like the name and 2) it’s groovy.

The 3 Pieces: Shortnin’ Bread
From Vibes of Truth (Fantasy, 1975)

The 3 Pieces were a short-lived group from the D.C. area that Byrd also produced, albeit not to anywhere near the same success as the Blackbyrds. Pity since the album yielded at least two strong cuts: the jazz dance track above as well as the more mid-tempo crossover track, “Backed Up Against the Wall.”

The Blackbyrds: Wilford’s Gone
From Cornbread, Earl and Me (Fantasy, 1975)

This seems as good a place to close out: the dark, moody, melancholy groove of “Wilford’s Gone” from the soundtrack of Cornbread, Earl and Me. Yet another gem shaped by the hand of Donald Byrd.

1. Case in point: the year in hip-hop in 1992. ↩

This isn’t some grand insight but what I find remarkable about the career of the late Donald Byrd was his ability to span so many different phases of jazz. For a cat who started in the bebop era, he bridged from there into post-bop, dabbled a bit in free, became one of the giants of the soul jazz era, and then became a massive force during the heyday of fusion. The vast majority of artists – of any genre – have trouble transitioning between even micro-changes in musical styles.1 Donald Byrd stayed relevant for at least 20 years. That’s as impressive a feat as I’ve seen by any artist above or below the platinum line.

The following playlist is absolutely not meant to be comprehensive. There’s dozens of songs I could have included but opted not to, either because they seemed so obvious to replay them would be redundant or, more to the point: they weren’t my favorites. But even this modest sampling gives you the idea of the astonishing range of Byrd’s musical genius.

Donald Byrd: Low Life
From Fuego (Blue Note, 1959)

I could have started with a song far earlier in Byrd’s career but my point here is to establish his bop/post-bop certifiers with a spry, swinging tune that reminds me of Bobby Timmons best work.

Donald Byrd: Cristo Redentor
From A New Perspective (Blue Note, 1963)

Byrd + gospel choir = sublime. And cinematic, no? Couldn’t you imagine this in some spaghetti western where our hero walks atop a sand dune, the sun setting at his back? Have I been watching too many Leone films?

Also: best cover ever.

Donald Byrd: House of the Rising Sun
From Up With Donald Byrd (Verve, 1964)

The best known song off this album is probably the cover of Herbie Hancock’s “Cantaloupe Island” but thanks to US3, I can’t really bear to listen to it much. I do like this cover of “House of the Rising Sun” though. No only does it draw from the same choral backing that we heard on A New Perspective but you can begin to hear the hints of the coming soul-jazz movement. It’s the small, subtle things in the rhythm that you’ll hear even more so on…

Donald Byrd: Blackjack
From Blackjack (Blue Note, 1967)

And here we are. It’s not upside your dome funky but clearly, it’s working in that vein, especially with the hard hammer of Cedar Walton’s piano. But heck, let’s take it a step further and let the drummer get some.

Donald Byrd: Weasil
From Fancy Free (Blue Note, 1969)

The first thing that strikes you is that Duke Pearson is tickling the Rhodes on here, apparently the first time Byrd allowed an electric piano to roll in. Combine that with the more aggressive breakbeats by drummer Joe Chambers and “Weasil” belongs firmly in the soul-jazz era that’s since been enshrined through comps like Blue Break Beats and Jazz Dance Classics.

Donald Byrd: The Little Rasti
From Ethiopian Knights (Blue Note, 1972)

To me, Ethiopian Knights represents the deepest Byrd got into this era of the soul-jazz sound before moving more towards proto-disco fusion style. Nearly 18 minutes long, nothing “little” about this.

Donald Byrd: Where Are We Going?
From Black Byrd (Blue Note, 1972)

With this album, Byrd minted a smash and established himself as one of the masterminds of a sound that blended jazz, soul, funk and disco. Black Byrd was, in many ways, a total blueprint for the next five years, not just of Byrd’s career, but the direction of jazz and R&B as a whole. For me, I definitely hear some What’s Going On? elements at play but the sheer smoothness of the track also hints at what you’d hear with yacht rock by the late 1970s. It’s all right here.

By the way, I’m going to skip over Street Lady even though it was an important/successful album, yada yada. The only thing I want to say is that the title track is an interesting “throwback” to Byrd’s sound from about five years before. It’s like a retro-hard-bop tune.

Donald Byrd: Wind Parade
From Places and Spaces (Blue Note, 1975)

The Mizell brothers era of Byrd’s career is perhaps his best known to most hip-hop fans given the sheer number of samples that emerged from it. Anyone up on my site should already have “Wind Parade” in heavy rotation but this is one case where I can’t not include it in here. Any song that helps power one of the greatest remixes in hip-hop history deserves that much.

The Blackbyrds: Mysterious Vibes
From Action (Fantasy, 1977)

At some point in the early 1970s Byrd landed a production deal with Fantasy Records and from that, he assembled a group of former Howard University students and they became the Blackbyrds. By the mid 1970s, though Byrd was still recording on his own, he was arguably experiencing more success in producing other groups, especially the Blackbyrds who had a string of hits I’m sure all of you are familiar. “Rock Creek Park” remains a constant staple for any good disco set but I threw in “Mysterious Vibes” here because 1) I like the name and 2) it’s groovy.

The 3 Pieces: Shortnin’ Bread
From Vibes of Truth (Fantasy, 1975)

The 3 Pieces were a short-lived group from the D.C. area that Byrd also produced, albeit not to anywhere near the same success as the Blackbyrds. Pity since the album yielded at least two strong cuts: the jazz dance track above as well as the more mid-tempo crossover track, “Backed Up Against the Wall.”

The Blackbyrds: Wilford’s Gone
From Cornbread, Earl and Me (Fantasy, 1975)

This seems as good a place to close out: the dark, moody, melancholy groove of “Wilford’s Gone” from the soundtrack of Cornbread, Earl and Me. Yet another gem shaped by the hand of Donald Byrd.