Porter Records digs Stark Reality

Natural Food : Siren Song
From Natural Food (Porter)

Birigwa : Yelewa
From Birigwa (Porter)





This is another obscure band project featuring John Abercrombie. Every soul fuzzy sounds crate diggers know about him since the last release (2003) Stark Reality (Now Again). Some said that the albums Now and 1969 were deeply influenced by Soft Machine, Hendrix and Sly Stone. In the early 70s Abercombie was in a jazz rock band called Dreams with drummer Billy Cobham and Blood Sweat and Tears member Randy Brecker. I never heard this before. But I read one day that in the early 70s Miles Davis have to make a decision between drummers Buddy Miles and Billy Cobham. By the way, Dreams first album was released before Miles Davis's Live-Evil. With a doubt, I suggere anybody who like Stark Reality to dig this new Porter Records release : Natural Food. Birigwa is the second release. More afro, jazz, folk. In a sense, some tunes recall me some afro jazz sounds from South Africa like Dudu Pukwana, Chris McGregor, Johnny Dyani, Assagai. And the Yelewa some Pharoah Sanders influence.

*** UPDATE *** UPDATE *** UPDATE *** UPDATE *** UPDATE *** UPDATE *** UPDATE ***

With a friend we try to dig some tunes featuring John Abercrombie ***

[mp3]

1. Souljazz Orchestra "Insurrection" Freedom No Go Die (Do Right Music)
2. Mulatu Astatqe "Netsanet" Ethio Jazz (L'Arome)
3. Dogliotti "Negro en sol menor" Candombe (Vampisoul)
4. Dave Cortez with the Moon Peo "Happy Soul With A Hook" (Fania)
5. Orlando Julius and the Modern Aces "James Brown Ride On" Orlando's Afro Ideas 1969-1972 (Soundway)
6. Birigwa "Yelewa" Birigwa (Porter Records)
7. Dreams "Dream Suite: Asset Stop/Jane/Crunchy Granola" Dreams (Columbia) ***
8. Stark Reality "Dreams" Stark Reality (Stones Throw) ***
9. Eddie Fisher & the Next Hundred Years "Either Or" (Chess)
10. Jesse Gresham Plus 3 "Shootin' The Grease" (Head)
11. Jean-Claude Vannier "Le roi des mouches et la confiture de Rouse" L' Enfant Assasin des Mouches (Finders Keepers)
12. Natural Food "Fair Breeze on Buzzard's Bay" Natural Food (Porter Records) ***

+ Dave Liebman "The Iguana's Ritual" Drum Ode (ECM) ***

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1) In February Natural Food and Birigwa will be "Officially" released.

2) Check this post linked by Colin Dilnot - In Dangerous Rhythm.

Homenaje to William Blake

David Axelrod: Holy Thursday and The Smile
From Song Of Innocence (Capitol, 1968)

Unfortunaletly Yazid Manou, great specialist in Jimi Hendrix, can't really help me. Saying to me the 'afro-rock' is not his speciality. Last show we tried with a friend whose got a cool vintage to broadcast original tunes and covers. But the day after I discover a tune that could indirectly bring together Demon Fuzz to Hendrix, more precisely Demon Fuzz to Buddy Miles... former Band Of Gypsys's drummer... I can't tell you more about Demon Fuzz, except what Paddy Corea (ex-Demon Fuzz) sent me last week, encouraging me to check out this both sites Canouanmusic or Demonfuzz-paddycorea for more info.

"Yes we toured with every body in those days. We toured with Moody Blues, Yes, Ginger Baker, Mungo Jerry, Coloseum, Who, and lots of others. There is a hard core of Afro-Rock followers in UK and a few other places in the world. I get mail from germany, phillipines, England, France and a few right here in the USA. I think Demon Fuzz stands well in the 35 years since we made our music.
thanks bye
Paddy Corea"

Two weeks ago, Egon, Stones Throw Records, answered my email telling me he was listening to Serge Gainsbourg a lot. After the post about Gainsbourg and Jean-Claude Vannier, it give me the idea to post something about David Axelrod. Song Of Innocence is not only a masterpiece but was an album which influence him for Histoire de Melody Nelson and L'Enfant Assassin des Mouches. But I can't really assure...

re-fresh

The Soul Lifters: Hot, Funky, and Sweaty
From 7"
also available on the comp. Hot, Funky and Sweaty (Soul Patrol, 1999)

Chicago: Introduction
From Chicago Transit Authority (Rhino, 1969)

+ Sly and the Family Stone: M'Lady
From Live at the Fillmore East (Epic, 1968)

New reedtion of Fresh, Stand and others album (+ bonus tracks) will be released soon in 2007. The album Fresh has already been released in two different versions and some fans think that the new release of Fresh could be the third... My favourite version is the second. "Epic/Legacy will on March 20 unveil remastered editions of Sly & the Family Stone's first seven studio albums, each with several bonus tracks and new liner notes. Not included in this batch are group leader Sly Stone's 1975 solo album High on You or the Family Stone's final studio set, 1979's Back on the Right Track." from Billboard.com

Two compilations propose the track "Hot, Funky, and Sweaty" by The Soul Lifters. The first I buy is The World's Rarest Funk 45s releases on Quantic and the other is Hot, Funky and Sweaty on Soul Patrol. There's an other covered version of this tune, see also the other compilation Hot, Sweaty and Funky release on Hard Soul Records in 2005. Sorry for the lack of information about The Soul Lifters, I forgot The World's Rarest Funk 45s, which is more detailed, in a radio station based in Paris where actually I do a training course... (That's why I alert you for some "Interruption").

If you're a big fan of Sly Stone, this tune could not be a surprise for you. Myself I've been very very surprised when I listened the track 'Mama Lolo" by The Entertainers here (check out, Brent recently update it!). As Robert said in the comment: "The Entertainer’s 45 is exactly the same as “Introduction” on the Chicago Transit Authority album". Chicago was a band musicaly familiar/similar to Electric Flag, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Buddy Miles Express, Paul Butterfield and Mike Bloomfield. Anyway, before the debut of Chicago, before the recordings of Stand and Electric Ladyland, and while Buddy Miles Express was recording the excellent album Expressway to Your Skull, Sly and The Family Stone was opening the show at the Live at The Fillmore East in 1968, Jimi Hendrix played next.

R.I.P Alice Coltrane

Santana & Alice Coltrane: Bliss: The Eternal Now
From Illuminations (Columbia, 1974)

By reading last post written by Junior I just learned the death of Alice Coltrane. She was 69. For her memory and her highly sense of spirituality I propose you 'Bliss: The Eternal Now'. Let your mind goes with the melody. Wherever you are Alice, thank you so much.

Harlem Bush Music

Gary Bartz Ntu Troop : Rise and Celestial Blues
From Harlem Bush Music (Milestone, 1970)

Yes I listen again and again the hard funk tunes 'Funked Up' that Gary Bartz released during his Mizell sessions. 'Funked Up' sound is nearest to Follow The Medicine Man than "Harlem Bush Music". Bartz is acknowledged to have joined Miles Davis, it's probably not the case with his work with Pharoah Sanders, John Coltrane's disciple, on Summun Bukmun Umyun.

Harlem Bush Music was produced at this time. On July 1970, Bartz featured on Summum Bukmun Umyun, on August 1970, he featured on Isle Of Wight concert with Miles Davis and began "Harlem Bush Session" on november.

Harlem Bush Music (Taifa/Uhuru) are two albums of the transition for Bartz. He formed Ntu Troop in 1970, the band combined funk, soul, jazz and folk.


"Everybody was interested in playing with Miles because he was the number one band. The Isle Of Wight was about my third concert with the band. That music was a transitionnal music. That was the music he had been playing in the band before. Now, once I joigned the band, we were on our way to play different music.
I was coming from a totally acoustic... I hadn't dealt with electricity. Initially, electricity, well, that's something you get from ConEd. But in reality, electricity is life itself, so how can I say I'm not into electricity when I'm electric? We all are electric.
Miles didn't change through the years. He got better. But as far as musically, he didn't change. Things around him changed. The world changed. So what are you going to do? The world changes, you gonna stay in those old trappings? You still gonna wear the clothes that you wore back in the '40s? You keep up. So he just kept up. that's all." Gary Bartz

from Miles Electric: a different kind of blue (Eagle Rock Entertainment, 2004)


Gary Bartz played with Miles:
Unknow date in August 1968 : New York City - Count Basie's, Harlem
Tuesday, August 18, 1970 : Tanglewood, Lenox, Massachusetts - Berkshire Music Center
Saturday, August 29, 1970 : Isle of Wight "Rock Festival"

Nina Simone and Lonnie Liston Smith

Nina Simone: Save Me
From A Very Rare Evening (PM, 1969)

Lonnie Liston Smith & the Cosmic Echoes : Expansions
From Expansions (Flying Dutchman, 1974)

see also the comp. : Flying Funk (Bluebird, 2003)

On september, Murphy's Law post "Funkier Than A Mosquito's Tweeter" performed by Nina Simone. This tune is one of a deep afro funk I've ever heard. Ike & Tina Turner's version sounds like a funk rock tune. Anyway it reminds me a compilation called Flying Funk released in 2003. I discover at first most of tunes on the blogroll before to buy the compilation. Indeed there are tunes perform by obscure band like Nites-Liters, Loading Zone, Lonnie Liston Smith and The Main Ingredient. Flying Funk is a selection of soul/jazz/funk between heavy funk and rare grooves compiled by Dean Rudland for the label Bluebird. In 2003, he also worked for another compilation Flying Groove he compiled Leon Thomas, David Axelrod, Gil Evans Orchestra and other funkier tunes.

Next One Hundred Years

Eddie Fisher: Land Of Our Father and Either Or
From Eddie Fisher & The Next One Hundred Years (Cadet, 1971)

Famous wah wah jazz funk guitarist at Chess records. Fisher was a longtime R&B sideman behind greats including Solomon Burke and Albert King. In 1970 Eddie Fisher sound was nearest Sly Stone, Hendrix and Eddie Hazel's sound than Wes Montgomery even if the jazz guitarist has a strong influence with him. Next One Hundred Years seems to be his third album and the second at Chess.

Lyricism and rock not so bad + Radio Citizen pt. 2

Jef Lee Johnson feat. Nathalie Richard : Le Chien
From Thisness (Hope Street Label, 2005)

Lightnin' Rod : Doriella Du Fontaine
From ?

Radio Citizen : The Prophets
From Berlin Serengeti (Ubiquity, 2006)

In 1970, get closing with pop culture, the French songwriter Léo Ferré has a project with Hendrix. At last, Léo Ferré achieved it with John McLaughlin on guitar and Billy Cobham on drums. "Le Chien" ('The Dog' in english) is actually cover by Jef Lee Johnson. It's amazing to listen how the tune sounds like "Doriella Du Fontaine". Another project with Hendrix and Lightnin' Rod from the Last Poets, a proto-hip hop band. "Doriella" was produced by Alan Douglas who was near the guitarist in the late 1969. The third tune is about Radio Citizen first album. The group comes from Berlin and led by Niko Schabel. Schabel already perfomed with Express Brass Band, Poets o Rythm, Jojo Kuo and Last Poets.

On the Corner

Fred Wesley & The J.B.'s : Blow Your Head
From Damn Right I Am Somebody (People, 1974)

Sly & The Family Stone : In Time
From Fresh (Epic, 1973)

Funkadelic : Wars Of Armageddon
From Maggot Brain (Westbound, 1971)

Miles Davis : Black Satin
From On The Corner (Columbia, 1973)

On The Corner's Miles Davis album, released in 1973, is certainly the funkiest and the most political of his discography. Though he's still also his most popular album according to Miles and reviewers and contrary to Headhunters's Herbie Hancock album released the same year, On The Corner was a commercial failure. Of course when he was recording it Miles was deeply influenced by american funk band.

Every funk addicts know that "Miles Davis was especially impressed by the sound of the [Fresh's Sly Stone] album. He played the opening track, "In Time", for his own band and told them that they should adapt a similar sound." (wikipedia) On the other hand, if you read the album booklet for more details you'll be disappointed by the lack of information.

Here I choose Damn Right I Am Somebody and Maggot Brain. Right, some tracks of James Brown's Payback album are nearest of Black Satin's beat. But Damn Right I Am Somebody was recorded during the same sessions as James Brown's album "The Payback" and also On The Corner is in the same political line. Don't forget the great political revival at Wattstax in '72.

Second album is Maggot Brain, yes because of the drums and bass beat. About that, Paul Tingen journalist and musical reviewer adds information that could interest you. "Another permutation of the same band briefly occurred in early 1972, with Ramon “Tiki” Fulwood, of Parliament/Funkadelic, on drums, further expressing Miles’s funk ambitions, but this appeared to have come to nothing, and Miles disbanded the Bartz-led ensemble.
Miles’s next step was the recording of On The Corner in June and July 1972..." (By Paul Tingen)

Don't let the dragon eat your mother

John McLaughlin : Marbles and Dragon Song
From Devotion (Douglas, 1970)

Feat. : Buddy Miles (drums, percussion), Jerry Goodman (violin), Billy Rich (bass) and Larry Young (organ, electric piano)

In the last post you can listen his new release, here this post is about a classic of Alan Douglas production. It is not my favourite album, but i'm so curious about these jazz-rock pioneers, and in particularly the contemporaries with Miles Davis's Bitches Brew album, Jimi Hendrix acid (jazz) rock projects (Nine to the Universe) and Tony Williams's Lifetime band, so I couldn't go through John McLaughlin's Devotion album. Moreover, Larry Young, on electric piano, was involved on each sessions. See also Larry Young's Fuel on earfuzz.

Before he featured on several jazz-rock sessions in New York, during the mid-sixties in UK McLaughlin was jamming with the Graham Bond and Jack Bruce. Here Marbles is certainly the most known of this album. In 1972, Buddy Miles and Carlos Santana, before he met McLaughlin, played together Marbles in a Santana's style.

When he was recording Devotion, McLaughlin just kept Lifetime and Bitches Brew's sessions, soon he will perform for the Mahavishnu Orchestra. Devotion represent a period of transition in his discography. It's sounds like Hendrix when he was jamming with Larry Young and McLaughlin's solo at the end of "Right Off" (see A Tribute to Jack Johnson).

Free and Wild Jazz

CD1 : Jays (feat. Kalaparusha, Chris White, Jumma Santos)
CD2 : Blue Phase (feat. Ahmed Abdullah, Charles Brackeen, Mashujaa, Leroy Seals, Rickie Evans, Rashied Sinan)
CD3 : Something's Cookin' (feat. Sunny Murray, David Murray, Byard Lancaster, Khan Jamal, Fred Hopkins)

From Wildflowers Loft Jazz New York 1976 (Douglas Records, 2006)

Yet another edition of the brillant and complete Wildflowers sessions with some of the great free jazz performers at the time like Jumma Santos, Ahmed Abdullah, Anthony Braxton, Sam Rivers, Sunny Murray and Fred Hopkins. This live album is the result of recordings at the Studios Rivbea, the loft home of saxophonist-composer Sam Rivers, during the seven nights of the Spring 76 Music Festival, thirty years ago. It contains three cds and it's produced by Alan Douglas, who not only produced the posthumous Jimi Hendrix Crash Landing projects album in 1974, John McLaughlin's Devotion in 1970, Lightnin' Rod Hustlers Convention but also jazz perfomers like Eric Dolphy and Miles Davis... If you want more information about him, see his bio wrote by The Wire.

The common critical consensus is that the 1970s, particularly the latter half of the decade, were the historical low point for jazz in America. Very few albums survive from that era, compared with the avalanches of reissues and vault clearing box-sets of 1950's and 60's groups. Part of this is, of course, due to the short shrift granted the avant-garde by most jazz historians. The music of the so-called New Thing, which by rote doctrine had burned itself out by 1968, in fact continued throughout the 1970s, expanding to Europe in search of audience and growing and evolving artistically to astonishing levels of power and beauty. This is not the story offered in most histories of the music, though; instead, the story is one of dwindling audiences and artistic stagnation, lame attemps at fusion coupled with sessions work on disco albums and other ignominious attempts to remain somehow culturally relevant. (by Phil Freeman, from the liner-notes)

Listen here

Eddie Harris : Freedom Jazz Dance
From The In Sound (Atlantic, 1965)

Les McCann & Eddie Harris : Compared To What
From Swiss Movement (Atlantic, 1969)

It's amazing to listen a jazz funk version of 'Compared To What', here performed by the pianist Les McCann with Eddie Harris on sax. When I bought 'Swiss Movement' it was the only version I known. Since I also discover Della Reese and Roberta Flack covers. Della Reese's covers sounds like soul funk. Roberta Flack covers is nearest to Les McCann / Eddie Harris's version. Roberta Flack play it on First Take released in 1969. 'Compared To What' appeared on Les Is More released in 1967, she's credited there, I don't know on which track(s), but she plays piano (a few months before cutting her first record for Atlantic).

With 'Freedom Jazz Funk' I discover what soul-jazz would means. Moreover, Smiles Miles, second album of the Miles Davis Quintet released in 1966, is directly inspired by 'Freedom Jazz Dance'. Although his work was recognized belatedly, Eddie Harris had an enormous influence on the emerging new generation of musicians in the 70's and he's still a reference for all jazz-funk lovers. One year later he was recording 'The In Sound', Herbie Hancock feat. on Blow Up soundtrack... but I prefer his Fat Albert Rotunda's album is so good.

Radio Citizen Pt. 1

Radio Citizen : Everything and Championsound
From Berlin Serengeti (Ubiquity, 2006)

Les titres sélectionnés dans l'album Berlin Serengeti, premier album du Radio Citizen, ont tous été pris en concert. Pour ensuite être retravaillé en studio. La formation qui entoure Niko Schabel est originaire de Berlin. Sur le Myspace de Radio Citizen on peut d'aileurs écouter une version live de The Creator Has A Master Plan reprise de Pharoah Sanders.

"Berlin Serengeti est entièrement monté sur la base d'enregistrements live samplés, mixés puis combinés à la voix profonde de Bakja. Le résultat, à la fois complexe et évident, fait penser à certaines productions les plus électroniques de Jazzland Records : pas étonnant, le leader et multi-instrumentiste (saxophone alto, clarinet, bass clarinet, percussions, flûtes, claviers...) Niko Schabel dirige parallèlement un quartet jazz et a officié aux côtés de Express Brass Band, Poets o Rythm, Jojo Kuo (ex-Fela Kuti), Last Poets et beaucoup d'autres." (from La Baleine Distribution)

Free Your Mind

Pharaoh Sanders : Summun, Bukmun, Umyun
From Deaf Dumb Blind (Impulse!, 1970)

Le disciple de John Coltrane réalise ici l'un des plus grands afro-jazz de tous les temps. Ca, c'est moi qui le dit ! Un jour j'ai acheté ce disque que je connaissais pas plus que de nom et depuis ... quel plaisir d'entendre un pareil bijou à forte dimension spirituelle. Summun, Bukmun, Umyun est extrait d'une sourate du Coran qui signifie "Death Dumb Blind" ou encore "Aveugle Sourd Muet". Ce disque nous renvoit à New York en juillet 1970, Pharaoh Sanders est alors accompagné du saxophoniste Gary Bartz, le mois qui suivra ce dernier accompagnera Miles Davis au Festival de l'Ile de Wight, et est en cours d'enregistrer l'album très engagé "Harlem Bush Music" sous le nom de Gary Bartz Ntu Troop. Ensemble avec Woody Shaw, Lonnie Liston Smith, Cecil Mc Bee, Clifford, Nathaniel Bettis et Anthony Wiles ils nous font transcender ce jazz qui ressemble plus à une volonté de ressource aux sources qu'à une recherche de groove propre à l'époque.

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"The man of faith holds fast to his faith
because he knows it is true. The man of
the world, rejecting faith, clings hard to worldly interests.
Let him mind his worldly interests, but
let him not force his interests on men
sincere and true, by favour, force or fraud."

Summun, Bukmun, Umyun, which means deaf, dumb and blind, was taken from the Surah Bakra from The Holy Quran. (A surah is similar to a chapter, as compared to the Bible.) Deaf, dumb and blind as usued here does not refer to the physical state, but instead, to the spiritually handicapped. In other words, Listen but do not hear, Around but do not aware, Look but do not see. (Extrait de l'album)

Jazz Harping : Dorothy Ashby & Alice Coltrane

Dorothy Ashby : Afro-Harping
From Afro-Harping (Cadet, 1968)
aussi sur la compilation Psychedelic Jazz & Funk Grooves

Alice Coltrane : Something About John Coltrane
From Journey In Satchidananda (Impulse, 1970)


La harpe nous vient de l'Antiquité grecque et dès les années 1930 l'instrument était inclus dans le monde du jazz par Casper Reardon et Jack Tegarden. Charlie Parker était lui aussi accompagné d'une harpe dans les années 1950 ainsi que Louis Armstrong qui laissait jouer Dorothy Ashby. En 1968, celle-ci produisait chez le label Cadet Afro-Harping, un groove-jazzy, en suivant ses multiples collaborations dans le monde de la soul comme Stevie Wonder et Minnie Riperton, ex-membre du Rotary Connection également produit chez Chess. A la fin des années 60, l'instrument a été popularisé par Alice Coltrane qui poursuivait l'oeuvre de son mari défunt, en quête du spirituel.


Stevie Wonder - If It's Magic

Ella Fitzgerald - Summertime (1968)