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As I’m about to expand my mixes-for-purchase catalog (a new Aretha mix and Deep Covers 3!), I’d also like to offer up free mixes from the past, beginning with this trio. I’ll likely add at least 1 or 2 more mixes to this page over the next week.
 Polyrhythmatic (1998). Hip-hop, indie-heavy. Probably my favorite hip-hop mix from that era…I just had great songs to use and I spent the most time on (basic) scratching and other segue tricks.
 Double Flip (1999/2000). This was a “double album” – [...]
Continue reading FREE MIXES
Gabor Szabo and the California Dreamers: San Franciscan Nights
From WInd, SKy and Diamonds (Impulse, 1967)
“The above song is dedicated to the city and people of San Francisco” (decked out in red and gold…and not just for the Year of the Dragon).
Just a random observation/thought but music and sports are, of course, intensely personal but they’re also appreciated even better when others around you are just as passionate about it. So this past few weeks have been fun as hell, with almost everyone I know in the [...]
Continue reading DON’T GIVE US NO BAMMER WEED
Sarah Vaughn: Bye Bye
From 7″ (Mercury, 1964)
James Royal: House of Jack
From 7″ (CBS Germany, 1969)
Mark Martin: In the Good Old Topless Time
From 7″ (TWR, 1968)
I previously wrote about “instrumentals-made-into-vocal” covers in 2010, and now have three more to add into the mix.
Sarah Vaughn’s “Bye Bye” obviously riffs on Mancini’s hugely famous “Peter Gunn Theme”. I’m on the fence with this one…you don’t really need to throw vocals on one of the best frickin’ t.v. themes of all time but then again: [...]
Continue reading VOCALIZED COVERS
Bobbi Humphrey: Blacks and Blues
From Blacks and Blues (Blue Note, 1974)
KMD: Plumskinzz
From 12″ (B-side of “Nitty Gritty”) (Elektra, 1991)1
Eric B. and Rakim: Keep the Beat
From Don’t Sweat the Technique (MCA, 1992)
(This was originally posted four years ago but because of how my commenting system has changed since then, I lost all the original comments about it and that seemed like a shame. As it was, I was listening to “Plumskinz” again – I never can get enough of this song – and I figured, “hell, why [...]
Continue reading KMD vs. Eric. B and Rakim: Who Flipped It Better?
Ralph MacDonald just passed away. He wasn’t always as well known as a solo artist since the most prolific part of his career came as a percussionist for hire, but in that regard, he was world-class and one of the most important percussionists for countless 1970s and early ’80s jazz and R&B artists. He was also a highly undersung songwriter, having penned several absolutely classics alongside his writing partner William Salter.
I wanted to whip together a personal list of favorites that MacDonald helped craft. If you’re like me, you might very well [...]
Continue reading RALPH MACDONALD: UNIVERSAL RHYTHMS (RIP)
The Ahmad Jamal Trio: I Love Music
From The Awakening (Impulse, 1970)
Ahmad Jamal: Lament
From At The Top: Poinciana Revisited (Impulse, 1969)
Ok, I wanted to take a break from hitting you over the head with hip-hop posts nonstop while I’m in purge mode.
During Rock the Bells, when Pete Rock came on-stage to join Nas and Premier, Primo dropped a brief snippet of “I Love Music” in honor of “The World Is Yours,” and frankly, that shit sounded AMAZING over a loud sound system. I don’t know if all [...]
Continue reading AHMAD JAMAL: BE JOYOUS IN HIS LAMENT
Eugene McDaniels passed away this past Saturday, at the age of 72. I can’t do his long and illustrious career proper justice – most of what I know of his catalog constitutes a small fraction of the total number of songs he wrote and recorded. However, the few McDaniels songs I’m most familiar with rank among some of the most interesting and socially relevant I know of.
I’ve written about him in the past and here’s what I had to say:
Eugene McDaniels: Cherrystones
From Outlaw (Atlantic, 1970)
This song is so excellent [...]
Continue reading EUGENE MCDANIELS: DANCE FOR FREEDOM
Cold Duck: Cold Duck (On Ice)
Folk: A Helping Hand
L&M Jazz Quartet: Serenade to a Chicken Wing
The Profits: Fantasy of Love
All from Like People: The Sounds of Young Los Angeles (SOYLA, 197?)
I had been after this LP for a few years now, ever since first seeing at the Groove Merchant, back in the day. It was the cover art; there was something so enticing about how everyone was standing at the top of that canyon, combined with a flip on the old Motown slogan, “The [...]
Continue reading THE SOUNDS OF YOUNG LOS ANGELES
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