An American eating Hamburgers

The record store where I got most of my rare funk, jazz, and soul was owned by an old curmudgeon and his salty-sweet wife. The place stunk of cigar smoke and dusty covers. I became a regular fixture there. I would visit at least once a week to make sure nothing slipped through my fingers into the next digger's eager empty palms. Part of that ritual also included visiting White Mana burgers across the street. The record store no longer exists; but if you're in the area, you'd be a fool not to grab a handful of those stinky little buns-of-joy being slung by the dozens from the paper-thin lady who seems to live behind the grill.

This double LP import contains all the songs from Herb Geller's Rhyme and Reason LP along with instrumentals.

STFU!!!

Familiar Faces?

These high school kids playing jazz thirty three years ago to the day is so endearing. And now that Herb Albert's Rise has entered an unlikely musical lexicon thanks to P-Diddy's effortless sampling prowess, any cover version has hypnotizing potential. This analog lacks the epic breakdown Puffiesque producers would use, and instead let's Robin Radus loose on the keys when the trumpeter's lips go numb. On the flip is The Lane Jazz Band's take on the jazz standard So What by Miles Davis. They loose the swing and phase the bassline over a rock drum beat.

GET FAMILIAR WITH IT

Brazilian Wax

Girls love Brazilian music. The lyrics sound romantic with just a touch of rough—like good sex. And, for the most part, the themes are sunny and optimistic. The bossa beat: playful. But anyone who has at least seen City of God knows that it's not all lush tropical paradise around the rio.

Brazil: Songs of Protest was released in the late sixties and is a counterpoint to the well known brazilian bossa sound that had such an influence on american jazz of that decade. Instead, these tracks are brooding and heavy, dark and melodic, and tell tales of suffering and pain—like really good sex.

THE DARK SIDE

Live & Uncut

Everyone* knows the MAZE live album. (*everyone: Brits in the 80's and any American who has ever attended a black family reunion) The live version of Before I Let Go and Joy & Pain have had plenty of radio air time in the last quarter century. But, their best song was unjustly decapitated for the commercial release. This is the unedited head-to-toe version:

HERE'S TO YOU

Chicano Frog-Rock

These six bay area fools and their evil papier mâché amphibi-friend can get down, jack! Drum breaks, latin rhythms, and energetic horns create a mood that only existed for a short time in history in foggy California. If you like classic Santana...well... if you don't: see a doctor, sapo.

HOP TO IT

Funky Electric Vio-Lin

I must confess this album is Fun. . The album is quite unusual. . My electric voilin. . Many thanks—Elliot Fisher writes in his liner notes. This obtuse album on Dobre records, In the Land of Make Believe, is as funky as tiny-stringed-soloing jazz albums get. . that don't involve Michal Urbaniak.

MAKE BELIEVE

NYCT Remixes ft. Los Fulanos

We were flattered and elated when the Barcelona funk-monsters, Los Fulanos, asked us if they could reinterpret our original composition, The Forgotten Chant. From there, the Remix LP was born. Accomplished contemporaries like TM Juke & The Jack Baker Trio and the Colman Bros were among others to get involved in this LP that I am so very proud to be a part of.
The Forgotten Chant (Revisited by Los Fulanos) by Names You Can Trust

Sippin' on Some Slivovitz

I think it was Prince Paul who once said that the bigger the afro on the cover of an LP, the better the funk would be. That certainly appears as gospel (Bobbi Humphry -> Funkadelic -> Lafayette Afro Rock Band.)

And for a while I had my own rule: If it said Jazz-Rock on the cover, it was dopeness. (Nowadays I'm more of a Space-Disco kinda guy.)

Panoramic Jazz-Rock by Marius Popp is just as sumptuous an album as they come. With great open drums, warm Wurlitzer sprinkles, bright horn stabs, and of course a little crackle and hiss in the vinyl, it's a grand listen in the living room.

BETTER WITH BRANDY

Spices from Thailand

The Impossibles enjoyed their success in the seventies being acclaimed one of Thailand's greatest bands. To this day, if you've got some extra bahts, you can grab yourself one of many karaoke CDs taken from their catalogue and singh along.

While this album contains an occassional pop tune or two (easy to be hard, love will keep us together) it's really their funk LP. The band sounds a lot like Kool & the Gang (greatest funk band ever?) especially when they cover them (give it up, love the life you live.)

If you enjoyed the international funk stylings of the Xingu Combo I posted earlier, then you're gonna be cool with Hot Pepper for sure. Something about these weird american accents over full force funk kind of does it for me.

OPEN SESAME

Xingu !!

Legend has it this LP by the El Combo Xingu was discovered by Egon and his boys over at Stones Throw. At the time, collector's were comfortable shelling out half a G large for this Chilean funk-bomb. Taking the broker route, i waited for my two-digit $hopportunity. It doesn't have the "original" cover, but this one is far more interesting! It's a Peruvian thrift store throwaway flipped inside out and stamped with the label of the promotional distro company that, most likely, sent this off to the local radio stations to enter the 1972 South American zeitgeist.

I knew about the James Brown "Hot Pants" cover. But the versions of Herbie Hancock's "Bring Down the Birds" (from the soundtrack to Blow Up as used by Deee-Lite for "Groove is in the Heart") and Led Zeppelin's "Moby Dick" –with its awesome drum break– are only a few of the highlights on this Long Player. It's such an interesting listen all around that i went ahead and recorded the whole damn thing for ya!

AQUI ESTA !!