JAZZMOTEL

Interview with Janet Lawson

2010-11-10T07:39:00.001-08:00

As always it was quite incredible, I get in touch with another great person , a fabulous singer and a very kind woman ...
Let me introduce you another interview here in this strange , Jazzy , crazy , beloved Motel ...

Janet Lawson, GRAMMY®-nominated jazz vocalist and one of the founders of the Vocal Department at New School University, has forged the way for jazz singers to develop their full musicianship through her lauded "free-spirited" scat singing, live and in recordings with the Janet Lawson Quintet. She has performed in Europe -- London at the Jazz Café, Paris at the Duc des Lombards, Denmark with Butch Lacy´s Very Big Band, and Eastern Europe in Latvia and Lithuania at various jazz festivals and clubs -- and giving master classes at Universities and Jazz Camps throughout Europe, Lawson opens the door for jazz singers and instrumentalists to play together as partners in jazz. As she continues to recover from an illness that took away her voice, she has directed her creative energies into a forthcoming book, The Integrated Artist: Improvisation as a Way of Life, as well as a children´s story with original music about the history of jazz, "Grandma Sage and Her Magic Music Room," co-written with world-renowned composer and author Carman Moore. And she continues to foster the vision of jazz singing as "a musician´s expression with your voice as your axe." In support of this vision, noted jazz critic and journalist Stanley Crouch says, "Janet Lawson is a true musician ... up next to the musicians with whom she´s working on an equal level."

What are your musical tastes and how did they develop? Which musicians influenced you the most?

My musical tastes are eclectic. I grew up in a household of parents who were professional musicians – my mother was a singer/lyricist, my father was a drummer/pianist/composer. Their parents came from Eastern Europe – I heard that flavor of music as a little girl. The music of the day was big bands. My peers listened to what was called “race music” in Baltimore during the ‘50’s – LaVerne Baker, Fats Domino, Mickey and Sylvia, The Coasters, Elvis – I listened to the contemporary music of that time, classical music on the radio my parents played and also the records they played – Teddy Wilson, Peggy Lee – I was into Frank Sinatra a lot and sang the songs he sang with a big band that hired me when I was 15 years old until I was 19 and left for New York.

How did your musical career come about? I know that you sang with musicians of the calibre of Tommy Flanagan, Joe Newman, Barney Kessel, Milt Hinton, Ron Carter, Barry Harris, Dave Liebman, David and Lida Baker, Rufus Reid, Clark Terry, Billy Hart, Cedar Walton, Billy Higgins and Bob Dorough. I know that you had your début with Art Farmer.

When I arrived in New York in 1960, I took a secretarial job at Columbia Records and recorded demos on my lunch hour – leading me to gigs on the weekends – leading me to the people who were keeping jazz alive in New York. I was fortunate to be guided by Jules Colomby, who, with his brother, Harry, managed Thelonious Monk. It was through Jules, my first gig in New York City was at The Village Vanguard with Art Farmer and his group – Steve Kuhn-piano, Steve Swallow-bass, Pete LaRoca-drums.
Tell me something about the concept of the voice as an instrument.
When I listened to Frank Sinatra, I heard what the band was doing behind him and found those musical ideas fascinating. When I sang with the Bill Maisel big band in Baltimore for those 4 years, what the band was playing was exciting and called to my ears and my heart; I wanted to sing what they were playing – all I got to sing was one chorus and then I sat down. The instrumentalists played all the time. I call what I did “Letter D” singing: The arrangement had Letter A, the head, Letter B, the repeat of the head, Letter C, the modulation to the trumpet player’s solo, Letter D, modulation to the female singer’s key (after I sang that’s when I sat down), Letter E the out chorus. I heard the sounds of trumpets, saxes, trombones, piano, bass, drums, guitar and wanted to make music the way they did. It really called to me!
So, when I started improvising, I imitated all those instruments I’d heard and became them when I sang.

When did you arrive in New York? What was the atmosphere like ? What sensations?

I arrived in New York in 1960. New York was like everything I’d seen in the movies – foreign, intriguing, huge and small at the same time; it was a city I grew to know as if it were a small town. I typed for Temporary Agencies – in between touring in Central America, The Caribbean, Japan, Bangkok – I’d type, go sing in the Aruba Caribbean Hotel, come home and type and go out to sing again. Each time I typed it was in a different part of the City: The east side, west side, uptown, downtown – I felt as if New York was my home town. Everything was so much cheaper then, I was in the jazz clubs all the time, hearing Monk at The Five Spot, Bill Evans at the Village Vanguard, Ella at Basin Street East. I was at the theatre just as much watching Jason Robards, Jr. in Eugene O’Neil’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night, Beyond the Fringe (British Satirical Comedy) the New Wave Film Directors - Truffaut, Louis Malle, Jean-Luc Godard. It was a rich time in New York but you didn’t have to be rich to reap the benefits of all its gems.

I heard you for the first time with Dindi in 1977, which for me remains the best version of this Antonio Carlos Jobim song.
How did this version come about and why has it never been released on an LP?

This came about in a very strange way.

I went to the Village Vanguard one evening to hear the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra and met their producer Sonny Lester. He’d heard my singing and wanted to produce me. But he wanted to put out a commercial record, me singing a pop tune. The rap was always, “Get famous this way first and then you can sing anything you want”. I can’t tell you how many times I heard that!!! This was the first time, though. I was young and fell for it yet had the connection in my heart to the real music and insisted that on the flip side of the record I sang, Dindi with Sir Roland Hanna/piano, Richard Davis/bass, Mel Lewis/drums. The song I recorded for Lester starting moving up on the Country charts – but Dindi remains in the hearts of jazz purists – me included!

...And then to 1980 and the album “The Janet Lawson Quintet” and “So High”, I think this song is part of Dancefloor Jazz history. What can you tell me about this album?

We recorded this entire album in just 5 hours – mostly first takes – produced by Jack Perricone, who heard us performing around New York City and said he wanted to get our music out to a wider audience. He’s a song writer, a musician himself so his ears were attuned to what we were creating. He got us a studio on W. 23rd that was used for classical recordings – a big room, great Steinway piano, no small booths separating the band from each other. We recorded just like we played on our gigs – close and bouncing off each other.

So High was written by Diane Snow-Austin with whom I had created a musical about women Jazz musicians called, JASS IS A LADY, that was funded by the National Endowment of the Arts and produced in New York City by Playwrights Horizon. So High became a huge success in England as a dance tune and when I performed at The Jazz Café in London in the late 90’s and toured there, as well, So High was a requested part of our repertoire.
On the second album “Dreams can be” like on the first also, we notice your Skat style and the “freshness” of the songs, an unstoppable energy. How does this sound come about?

My scat style evolved by playing with the great musicians I had the honor to play with – to study on the gig with – or to actually study with – like Warne Marsh, the master tenor player, who taught me the way he taught his sax students. My studies included using my whole range on all the scales, employing patterns, improvising and writing down the ideas I sang, learning horn solos, all the things I now teach my Vocal Jazz Students at The New School University in New York. The energy comes from the life force of the music – of life, itself!

I know that you also teach in some music colleges such as the Manhattan School of Music, Berklee College of Music, Indiana University at Bloomington, City Stages in Birmingham, Alabama, and the University of Calgary. Tell me about these masters.

As I said, I am presently Adjunct Professor of Vocal Jazz at The New School. I was Adjunct Professor of Vocal Jazz at New York University for five years until they cancelled their Vocal Jazz Program I have given Master Classes and performed at The Manhattan School of Music with my Quinte; Berklee College of Music with Bob Stoloff (now Chair of Vocal Dept.), and with Bob Dorough and Stephanie Nakasian and Hod O’Brien; Indiana University at Bloomington with David and Lida Baker; City Stages in Birmingham, Alabama with Barry Harris and Milt Hinton,
The University of Calgary with singer Vivianne Cardinal and the wonderful musicians from the area.
These master classes included: creating a safe, fun environment for singers to explore their musicianship, their connection to the instruments inside them. Having musical conversations with other singers, improvising with one instrument at a time (voice and bass, voice and drums, etc.), being the instruments by singing in the language of the instrument (articulation, tone, rhythms), feedback from performances, discussion of discoveries.
Towards the end of the 80's there was a rediscovery of the JLQ thanks to a few Dj's such as Gilles Peterson and of the rediscovery of Dancefloor Jazz. All of this relatively close to the period when you recorded the albums as opposed to other jazz artists rediscovered lets say by this movement. What do you think about this “second coming” of the group?
I am very grateful to Gilles Peterson and Seymour Nurse (DJ) and the manager of The Jazz Café, Adrian, for this “second coming” of the group. Seymour has followed the life of the JLQ for decades and in our talks described how the music has offered him deeply emotional experiences. Knowing this is a gift!

What are your plans and projects for the future?

My plans for the future are to recover from the illness that took out my voice (Lyme Disease and Bell’s Palsey) and prevented me from performing for several years. My producer, Jack Perricone and Legendary Jazz Critic, Ira Gitler (who also wrote the original liner notes for the Grammy Nominated Album, The Janet Lawson Quintet – calling it “Vox Instrumentum”), are working to connect with a record company to release the early works plus 4 cuts from a project we started in the late 90’s before my voice was hurt – a vocal tribute to Miles Davis.

"Metti una sera a cena " interview with Edda Dell'Orso

2009-05-29T12:15:00.000-07:00

I was listening to an Ennio Morricone soundtrack , I was traveling with the sound of the Italian Soundtrack Lady voice Edda Dell'Orso , the Soundtrack was " Metti una sera a cena " .
I decide to look for this fantastic voice , call her and ask for an interview .
This woman was never too much on the scene and it was not easy to find her , but after met , I realyze that she is a humble woman and a great artist , so in invite her for a dinner " a cena " .
this is the result .

"Metti una sera a cena " interview with Edda Dell'Orso

What are your musical origins? What were your influences?

Musically I began as a pianist. I started to play the piano when I was 5 or 6 years old. The music that I listened to were mainly music from American film scores, mainly music by Gershwin, Cole Porter.

What were your experiences before your contact with the world of cinema?

I started with the chorus. A classical chorus that was called Coro Polifonico. I then moved to the Franco Potenza chorus and finally with Maestro Alessandroni (I Cantori Moderni )where I was lead soprano. Every now and again a voice was needed for 7 or 8 measures and it was then that I became to Morricone's attention for the first time. And then came C'era una volta il West (Once A Upon A Time In The West)and thus was born the “instrumental voice” which is was what I loved to do when I was small.

Speaking of Alessandroni and Cantori Moderni, you were part of this very versatile and in demand vocal group. How did the hiring come about?
You recorded many film scores in a relatively short time. Were the composers in competition with each other to have you work with them?

The hiring of Cantori came from Alessandroni, Morricone, and Cipriani. They would call me at home. While for other engagements we were contacted by the management of the single Orchestras.

How did you go about developing a theme? Did the projection of the film or the reading the screenplay have any influence or did the composer instruct on how the piece should by executed?

Umiliani, Morricone, Bruno Nicolai, Jess Franco, Berto Pisano, Alessandro Alessandroni, You sang with the greatest masters of music for films during the golden age for this genre. What were you feelings and emotions at the time?

During that period we made many recordings. At times I would find myself in the recording studio from 9 in the morning until midnight. In any case there was a 3 hour shift every day and we worked very hard but it was very exciting to work with such masters. It was my life.

I heard your voice when I was just 5 years old, listening to theme music to “Metti una sera a cena” which remains my favourite. Can you tell me something about the development of this music?

Usually I would be called in when the film was already finished. Many times I wouldn't even see the scene. Again, the Musical Director Morricone gave my the score and I would read and interpret it as if I was an instrument. This was my way of singing. I remember that Morricone played me the theme on the piano. The film director Patroni Griffi was also there. The theme was the one which I would have to sing. If I remember correctly, when I heard the first bars, that “haunting” riff, I was very affected by I told Morricone that it would be great if it was sung. That’s how the famous theme to “Metti una sera a cena” came about.

Do you usually listen to the theme tunes you have sung? Which is your favourite ?

All of them are great. I particularly like “La Donna Invisbile”(Morricone). I also like “Giù la testa”, “Margherita”, “le Stagioni della Vita”.

In the last few years film music has made a comeback and many theme tunes have been reissued, while a few have remained very rare and costly gems. What do you think of this comeback?

I think it’s due to the fact that they are showing those types of films again and also that Morricone is playing a lot with his orchestra and so he presents these themes again and the public appreciate them a lot.

Many of your songs for Morricone are vocalised or skat but a few times, “Verushka” for example you sing in a pseudo-English. How did this style of singing come about?

Let’s say that a few songs, mostly the Bossanovas, for example “La Donna Invisibile”were very suitable non only to vocalisation but to this thing also. If you ask me what I was saying. I don’t know. Maybe every now and again an English syllable would come out but all this would come from the way I would read the music, they’re called “Phonemicsi”

Many theme tune were inspired by jazz or Bossanova or Samba. These genres were all the rage at the time.

Usually Bossanova was chosen for the lighter situations, let’s say, erotic, (Director Dell’Orso). Let’s say it wasn’t exactly Bossanova which is a quite definite Brazilian way of music. It was a lighter rhythm that resembled Bossanova. Morricone played plenty of that.

Did you ever sing on compositions that were later used as soundtracks?

I sang “Il treno” by Bruno Nicolai that had been written for an advert for the Ministry of Transport. Many times I would sing and then honestly I wouldn’t know what use they would be put to.

What are your plans for the future? What are you doing at the moment?

When there’s an opportunity, I sing. Benefit concerts and a new CD called “A childs dream”... A Morricone double CD will shortly be released with all the famous tracks I song on, all original recordings apart from the theme to “Deborah”, which due to some editorial reason had to be re-done.

Ray Mantilla Birthday Jazzmotel impressions

2009-03-06T11:34:00.000-08:00

Celebrating Ray Mantilla’s 75th birthday is not something you do every day.
I’ll skip the presentation of this artist as Jazzitlalia has already elaborated upon him with interviews and articles. I’ll focus on the emotions and sensations that the evening afforded me.

Thanks to Zero Zero Jazz and Associazione Culturale Miles I had the privilege as an independent Jazzmotel journalist and connoisseur of Latin Jazz music to attend this celebration from the late afternoon, attending the sound-check, the concert and the after-concert.

On arrival at the Don Mazza Auditorium in Padova, after trying with some difficulty to find parking, I enter this student college that houses a recently built concert hall and I await the arrival of the artists.

When they arrive I instantly take note of their warm-hearted friendliness, which probably is a by-product of their 40 years of touring, playing and meeting people.

The stage is practically ready, only the lights and sound-check are missing. Three congas Latin Percussion, 2 Timbales and a Cajon make up Mantilla’s instrumentation

The sound balance is over very quickly and is achieved by establishing a “true” sound rather than looking for a “perfect” sound. I note with great surprise the “electric” sound of pianist Edy Martinez. I then have the chance to meet the band and to ask Mantilla a few questions his about his music in the 60’s and 70’s focusing on “We Insist” which I find quite topical and up to date. He tells me about how he was contacted by Roach and about the atmosphere of that period ….a then a break and something to eat in a bar around the corner.

On my return the hall is packed and the background music is of great quality. The concert begins. I close my eyes and I have the sensation of being in the Bronx or in the Latin Barrio in the middle of the 70’s.
Martinez, with his electric piano typifies the sound of the gig, sounds that largely recall those of “The Other Road” by Ray Barretto FANIA on which Martinez contributed composing, in my opinion, the best tunes of that album.

With fantastic conga solos by Mantilla, jazzy embellishments by saxophonist Willie Williams (the Jazz “soul” of the band) and a fantastic rhythm section comprising a very tight Cucho Martinez on bass and Bill Elder on drums, after nearly two hours the Padova concert celebrating Mantilla’s birthday comes to an end.

A chat and a few drinks in the room housing the refreshments after the concert. I exchange emails and phone numbers and my evening as a Jazzmotel correspondent comes to a close accompanied by a piece of New York Barrio in my “Alma Latina”

JOE CUBA 1931 2009

2009-02-16T14:04:00.000-08:00

interview with Antonello Vannucchi I Marc 4

2009-01-29T00:31:00.000-08:00

Jazzmotel, after many interviews with European and worldwide jazz legends, returns home to Italy and begins a series of interviews with legends of music for film and library music.

Interview with Antonello Vannucchi.

During his career Antonello Vannucchi has performed with artist such as Chet Baker, Barney Kassel, Bobby Hackett, Kenny Clarke, Lee Konitz. Vannucchi, often pianist for Minnie Minoprio, also accompanied some of the great performers of Italian music from Mina to Ornella Vanoni.
Vannucchi also recorded “beat” songs for Ariston Records under the name of I 4 di Lucca later known as the great Marc 4.The name comes from the acrostic of the names of the founders (Maurizio, Antonello, Roberto, Carlo), all musicians wo were part of the Italian State Television (RAI) Orchestra. Essentially a studio band, because of the considerable technical ability of the single players, Marc 4 began to collaborate with the most prestigious authors of film scores : Ennio Morricone, Nino Rota, Armando Trovajoli, Gianni Ferrio, Piero Piccioni, Piero Umiliani, Alessandro Alessandroni to name a few. At times the guitarist Bruno Battisti D'Amario also collaborated with them.

Later the group began to produce their own material which had its origins in the beat style but later developed more into bossa nova and jazz, They recorded a few LP's and singles which are now very rare and sought after.
The principle characteristic of their sound was Vannucchi's Hammond organ. They also worked on TV themes, for example with Mooke/Simona, the theme tune to the program Controfatica, and also the two singles Tema di Nino/Romanza Popolare, which in 1974 were used as the theme tune for a television series about a doctor.
The single players also had a significant career as session musicians.

Where does your unmistakeable style of jazz come from? Who were your favourite musicians and how did they influence you at the beginning of your career?

I was fascinated by BeBop. Miles Davis was the one that opened up my listening to jazz music. I remember a 78rpm called “Down "or something like that , I cannot remember well .
Dizzy Gillespie,Clark Terry , Ray Brown and Bud Powell also influenced my taste, I loved bop from the 40's and 50's. I wanted to use two saxes to recreate that typical sound, the Bebop sound.

You played for a long period with the RAI Orchestra, accompanying the queens of italian music such as Mina and Vanoni. Was it easy to get into RAI and play with such an orchestra?

I played with the Rai Orchestra from 1965 to 1995, I played with Mina, Vanoni and the Kessler Sisters. We also created a small combo that played with them when they toured. We played many concerts, in Europe and beyond.

Tell me about the fabulous group “I Marc 4”. How did they come about?

“I Marc 4” came together in the early 70's. We played on many film scores, we were session men, let's say.
At times, the music director Trovajoli like also Umiliani or Piccoli, asked us, in certain particular moments of a film, to create sounds that appealed to our taste, commentary music (library)
And from that the idea of recording these “commentaries” or other pieces under the name of “I Marc 4”.
The name derives from the initials of our names Carlo Pes, Maurizio Majorana, Roberto Podio and me Antonello Vannucchi.
The Serni label produced these records that were later used as library music on “Cronache Italiane” etc..

When you were writing pieces for soundtracks, surely you had more room to move creatively. Did you have a catalogue of pieces already composed or did you compose according to request and demand?

Most of the times they would give us some themes and we would create ad hoc soundscapes.

“I Marc 4” were defined as the “Trovajoli Soloists”. Other than with this Musical Director you also worked with composers such as Ennio Morricone, Nino Rota, Gianni Ferrio, Piero Piccioni, Piero Umiliani, Alessandro Alessandroni.. How were you taken on or engaged. You were in high demand at the time...

Let's say that our sound was in demand,. We had an Hammond Organ and our sound was inspired by Jimmy Smith, this was the early 70's.

We could say that you were the rhythm session of the Italian theme music.

Exactly!! And we were also the rhythm session for the RAI Orchestra

At times you composed under other names. How come?

Being a part of RAI, myself Podio and Majorana, according to contract, we could not have a dual role and so when we were asked for a piece of library music, we'd record them under made up names or friends names in order to get round the problem of not being able to be under dual obligation. The names used were De Luca , Edmundo Rossi , Romolo Grano etc...

Which Musical Director was able to acknowledge your renown jazz vein?

Trovajoli for sure. He was a jazz player in his own right. Piccioni also loved jazz. He was very eccentric. !

You also played with jazz legends from overseas such as Chet Baker, Barney Kassel, Bobby Hackett, Kenny Clarke, Lee Konitz.
Was there a difference between playing with foreign musicians who were strictly jazz and Italian composers who had a background of classical or popular music?

When Baker came out of prison in Lucca in 1965, he came knocking straight at my door. We decided to form a group to accompany him during his concerts. We did this for quite a long time during his stay in Italy. The group was composed by me on vibraphone, Baker on trumpet, Andrea Tommaso on double bass and Franco Mondini on drums.

Mina, The Kesslers Sisters, “La Bussola”. What was the atmosphere like in Rome in the early 70's ?

The atmosphere was fantastic and always electric.

Do you ever listen by chance, to some theme tune which you played on or some recording by Marc 4 ?

Yes I still have all the vinyl records of our work and every now and again I listen to them. I know them off by heart by now.

What do you think about the desire that there is now (in the last few years) to look for, listen and even dance to that music.?

Naturally it pleases me ! I think that the music that we did then is very close to that which the young people listen to today, so it not difficult to see why they appreciate that type of music.

interview with Flora Purim

2008-06-29T07:52:00.000-07:00

The music of Flora Plurim has been at the forefront of Latin and American jazz music for over 25 years. She has earned two Grammy nominations for Best Female Jazz Performance and Downbeat Magazine Best Female Singer accolade on four occasions.
Flora’s musical partners have included Gil Evans, Stan Getz, Chick Corea, Dizzy Gillespie and she has collaborated with Airto Moreira on over 30 albums since 1967 when they arrived in New York with him in from their native Rio.

Her musical taste and genius developed thanks to her father, a Russian émigré, who played violin and her mother who was a talented pianist in her own right. Before leaving Brazil to escape the repressive regime of the time, she, like many Brazilian musicians, had mastered playing piano and guitar whilst developing her impressive vocal talent.
After arriving in New York Flora and Airto became central to the period of musical expression and creativity which produced the first commercially successful Electric Jazz groups of the 70s.

Pianist Duke Pearson was the first American musician to invite Flora to sing alongside him on stage and on record. She then toured with Gil Evans, and she worked with Chick Corea and Stan Getz as part of the New Jazz movement that also contained the influence of the great Cannonball Adderley.

In the early 70’s, two classic albums - "Return to Forever" and "Light as a Feather" introduced the fusion jazz sound!

Her first solo album in the US, Butterfly Dreams was released in 1973, which catapulted her straight into the Top Five Jazz Singers on the Downbeat Magazine Fame Jazz Poll.

During her career Flora has given her contribution to some of the greatest recordings of the seventies - Carlos Santana, Hermeto Pascoal, Gil Evans, Chick Corea and Mickey Hart . In the mid-Eighties, Flora and Airto resumed their musical partnership to record two albums for Concord for which she received a Grammy nominations and she continues to record and perform right up to the present day.

Jazzmotel is proud to present a LADY OF JAZZ.

This is the interview with Flora Purim.

One question I always ask the artist interviewed for Jazzmotel is: What are your musical origins? How did your taste develop?

My music origins are Brazilian and classical.

In 1967 you left Brazil for New York. Up until then with whom had you collaborated and what had been your experiences in Rio. Tell me about the musical atmosphere that was around Brazil at that time.

I became a professional singer in 1965. I worked extensively with Hermeto Pascoal, Sambalanço Trio, Sambraza Trio and recorded my first LP, entitled Flora é MPM, for RCA Victor. I also sang with the big bands of Maestro Cipó and Pocho as well as with the small ensemble called 7 de Ouros. I worked at the night club Stardust and at the temple of the Bossa Nova in
São Paulo, the João Sebastião Bar. The musical atmosphere was of the high quality of musicians and musicianship that had only one interest in mind: play, play, play! Brazil was beautiful and very inspiring in many different ways.

Musically speaking, what differences did you notice between New York and Brazil?

When I arrived in New York, it was December of 1967, and all I wanted was to listen to my favorite singers and musicians in jazz, which I did in a couple nights when I found out that in the Harlem was a jazz hang called Club Baron. Every active musician in town would converge to that club after their regular gigs, with the purpose of jamming. In other words the difference was only one. I could improvise in any style, and that was acceptable and welcome.
That time was indeed energetic and electric.

How was your first musical contact with New York jazz and in what way did you become part of the jazz musicians scene?

Then I joined Chick Corea and the original Return To Forever, along with bass player Stanley Clark, saxophonist and flute player Joe Farrell, Airto Moreira on drums, while I played percussion and sang unison lines on the melodies with the saxophones and flutes of Joe Farrell. When the group was not touring I would be rehearsing and singing with one of my mentors Gil Evans and his Big Band.

The first time I heard your voice was when I heard "Stormy" from the album "It Could Only Happen With You" of Duke Pearson. And I loved it.
Tell me something about your experience with the music of Pearson and Blue Note.

Duke Pearson fell in love with Brazilian music at first contact. And besides being an A&R and executive director for Blue Note, Duke had his Big Band and invited me to sing in two of his vinyl (LP) records: “How Insensitive” and “It Could Only Happen With You”. It turned out very nicely. He loved it and so did I.

Gil Evans has influenced your music and your artistic development in many ways. Of all his work, what has left its mark on you the most?

One his collaborations with Miles Davies entitled Miles Ahead: Miles Davis +19.

How can we define that New Jazz movement introduced by you, Airto, Chick Corea and Stanley Clarke among others? That sort of Electric Jazz with tropical undertones from the beginning of the 70's that they call Fusion.

I feel that fusion is not a bad way to describe it, except that we have to clarify that there are many types of fusion. That was a Jazz/Brazilian fusion; maybe we should call it illusion.

George Duke, Deodato, Hermeto Pascoal, Duke Pearson, Cannonball Adderley, are a few of the musicians with who you have worked. How much have they influenced your way of making music?

George Duke and Hermeto Pascoal as well as Airto and Gil Evans were the ones who helped me to decide the way I chose to sing by encouraging me to go ahead with my experimentations and validating me by coming to recordings and being part of my process of evolution.

What do you think of contemporary music that fuses 70's jazz with electronic
music?

I think is fine to try it but not everybody knows what it takes to successfully achieve a good result.

Do you think it has the same significance as the electric jazz that you used
to play?

No, I don’t think so.

Flora Purim
Paris - France, June 10th 2008.

Interview with Lonnie Liston Smith

2008-03-20T12:21:00.000-07:00

At this time we need Spiritual vibrations more than ever.
I had the great opportunity to get in touch with one of the great jazzmen
who was and still is very Spiritual in his way of thinking and exploring
jazz.
As you have read in my introduction to Lonnie Liston Smith he was very into
that Spiritual, Creative, Astral , Deep movement, along with Pharoah
Sanders and Leon Thomas (Peace be with him) among others...
As I knew, I discovered a Deep Man, a great musician and a new friend !
He also gave me some unpublished pics that you will see for the first time
here in JAZZMOTEL!!
This is what Lonnie Liston Smith and I talked about...

Lonnie , How have you defined your style, your piano playing style?
Which pianists or musicians have inspired your vision of jazz music?

I always wanted to develop a universal style of music, and when I am playing the piano and keyboards I try to be aware of the importance of using space. Miles Davis told me one time that musicians don't realize that what they don't play is just as important as what they do play.Miles Davis and John Coltrane inspired my vision of music the most! Also Debussy and Ravel inspired my vision of music.

One of your first important experiences was with Art Blakey, thanks to the help of the player Mickey Bass . Tell me about your experience with Art Blakey and the great jazz scene .

Working with Art Blakey was a great experience because each member of the group would write songs and Art would not come to the rehearsals until we had learned all of the new songs, then he would come in and sat behind the drums and play each song as if he had heard these songs before. It was amazing how Art could interpret these songs so quickly.

Another drummer who helped to increase your credibility was Max Roach. You played with him for about a year and then later recorded two albums with Rahsaan Roland, right up to 1968 when you met Pharoah Sanders.
what is changed after the encounter with Sanders ?

Working with Max Roach was quite a different experience because Max played in so many different time signatures (5/4, 7/4, etc.). People don't realize Max Roach taught Dave Brubeck and his band how to play in 5/4 time. When I played with Rahsaan Roland Kirk I had to play all types of music. Rahsaan liked to play the blues, dixieland music and also straight-ahead jazz.

That period was very much influenced by the spiritual slipstream left over by Coltrane. You started to experiment with the electric piano indian tambura and composed a few songs that later became defined as Cosmic Jazz .
Tell me about that sort of energy that influenced you, Leon Thomas, Pharoah Sanders and many other musicians of that period…
“Thembi “, "Upper Egypt", "Karma", "Creator Has a Master Plan", "Summun, Bukmun, Umyun", and "Jewels of Thought” were a sort of astral journey of jazz.
What kind of feeling was there in that period and how did jazz music blend with spirituality?

Leon Thomas, Pharoah Sanders and myself developed a whole new concept of jazz. I wrote most of the music for the group when we were together. We would stretch the music as far out as we could, and then bring the music back down to earth.I wrote "Astral Traveling" for Pharoah and that song really represented "Cosmic Jazz". In that song I tried to capture the feeling of floating through space.
I want my music to heal all of the problems on the planet Earth, like wars, man's inhumanity to mankind, because if we don't learn to live in peace and harmony, then this whole planet will be destroyed.

You also performed on the recordings of Miles Davis’ “On The Corner” and “Big Fun”. How much did your closeness to Miles contribute to your evolution in jazz, a music that was becoming evermore experimental and open to certain influences and experimentations with electric instruments and free expressions in music.

Working with Miles Davis was the "ultimate"! Miles was a musical genius on stage and off stage! Every night working with Miles I had to be very creative because Miles had me playing a new keyboard, "The Yamaha Electric Organ". He wanted to hear a new sound and the only time I had an opportunity to play the new keyboard was on stage.

In 1974, after the experience with Gato Barbieri and the Flying Dutchman label, Bob Thiele, who had supported the album by Sanders, helped you to obtain your first contract for an album as a solo artist and leader. That album was “Astral Travelling”
Than the Cosmic Echoes were born .
Did that album allow you to record what you had in mind at the time?

After working with Miles Davis I formed "The Cosmic Echoes". I saw that Miles had hooked up a lot of pedals to his trumpet, like the wah-wah pedal, etc.. So
I decided to hook up all these different pedals to my Fender Electric Piano and that's how I discovered the Lonnie Liston Smith Sound on the Electric Piano.

How did the passage to Jazz Funk happen? Which sounds inspired this move?
In 1975, with “Expansions” you defined your style by creating a sort of Funky Jazz, very fresh but still maintaining your spiritual and astral vein. What can you tell me about this album?

After I recorded "EXPANSIONS", The Entire World labeled me "THE GODFATHER
OF JAZZ FUSION FUNK".

“Visions of a New World” and “Renaissance” were the next step, electric piano with echo and wah-wah effects, percussions and funk. In all of your work percussions are always much involved and you use more than one percussionists on one album.
How important were the percussions to you sound?

The sounds of different percussion instruments are very important because the sounds are so cosmic and universal, so I try to use percussion instruments as much as possible.

thanks Lonnie .

Thanks JAZZMOTEL Peace

Introducing Lonnie Liston Smith

2008-03-16T04:55:00.000-07:00

Lonnie Liston Smith The acoustic pianist/electric keyboardist was born in Richmond, VA, on December 28, 1940, should not be confused with soul-jazz organist Lonnie Smith (see also Jazzmotel interview ).. . During the '60s or early '70s, he had been a sidemen for Pharoah Sanders, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Gato Barbieri, singer Betty Carter, and trumpeter Miles Davis. During Davis collaborations Smith signed with producer Bob Thiele's RCA-distributed Flying Dutchman label and recorded his first album as a leader, Astral Traveling (which Thiele produced).

In the early 70’s He formed the Cosmic Echoes and started he’s new adventure as a Leader .
Hes music as we saw for the Sanders / Leon Thomas period were very influenced by a kind of Cosmic Peaceful Spiritualism also finded in the post-bop works of space explorers like Coltrane, Sanders, Yusef Lateef, McCoy Tyner almongst all .
The first Cosmic Echoes lineup,included George Barron (soprano and tenor sax), Joe Beck (guitar), Cecil McBee (bass), David Lee, Jr. (drums), James Mtume (percussion), Sonny Morgan (percussion), Badal Roy (tabla drums), and Geeta Vashi (tamboura). Astral Traveling .The first Cosmic Echoes was an instrumental work , later on Lonnie added a vocalist to the Cosmic Echoes: his brother Donald Smith.
Their essential discography include Astral Traveling -- 1974's Thiele-produced Cosmic Funk, 1975's Expansions, 1975's Visions of a New World, 1976's Reflections of a Golden Dream, and 1977's Renaissance, all of which were on either Flying Dutchman or RCA proper.Lonnie run now Hes own Company called Loveland records .

Interview with Eumir Deodato

2008-01-09T11:36:00.000-08:00

From Eumir Deodato web site :
Widely regarded as one of the most respected and sought-after musicians in the music world, Brazilian-born Eumir Deodato has racked up 16 platinum records to his credit as artist, arranger or producer with combined sales of well over 25 million records in the USA alone.
His discography, including compilations and all his work as arranger, producer and keyboardist, surpasses 450 albums.
In addition, several artists over the years have covered his songs, including George Benson, Lee Ritenour, Sarah Vaughan and The Emotions to mention just a few.
Deodato will probably forever be associated with one song - his innovative rendition of Richard Strauss' classical opus Also Sprach Zarathustra (or more commonly known as the theme to 2001: A Space Odyssey).

It's a big honour for me to guest here at JAZZMOTEL one of the greatest Brasilian Composer .
Together with Marcos Valle , Tom Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes , Deodato is the man who made the Brasilian Music History.
In this interview I ask Eumir to talk about his very early period ..and I discovered another great man and artist of course.
Enjoy another great JAZZMOTEL interview .

I know that you have always had a great passion for orchestral music and that you recorded your first session with a 28 piece orchestra when you where 17.
Who were your favourite composers and who inspired your taste?

Some of the classical orchestrators that inspired me a lot were Maurice Ravel, Igor Stravinsky, Alban Berg, Paul Hindemith, Rimsky-Korsakoff and a few others. On the jazz and pop side, Gil Evans, Oliver Nelson, Bob Brookmeyer, Henry Mancini, and many others.

1964 was a very prolific year for you. From your first album "Inútil Paisagem" where you mainly performed and rearranged classic pieces by Tom Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes up to "Idéias" where apart from the songs of Marcos Valle and other composers, we started to hear some of your own compositions. How did you go about choosing the tracks for your LP´s?

Usually together with the record company and some of the writers of the songs involved.

Again in 1964 with "Impulso" and "Tremendão", you begin a chapter which is very dear to me: Os Catedráticos, the use of the organ and a turning point for Bossa Nova, for me ...
Tell me about this project and of the contribution that the organ gave to create that sound that today is known as Lounge.

This started with my collaboration with a small Brazilian label called Equipe. I did an album for them called "Los Danseros In Bolero" since boleros were still very popular in Brazil. It had an instant success which was then followed by Os Catedráticos which was originally intended as a dance group playing mostly samba and slow dancing pieces.

Roberto Menescal, Paulo Moura,Wilson das Neves, Maurílio Santos, Rubens Bassini, Dom Um Romão, Airto, Bebeto remember are a few of musicians you have played with. What kind of relationship did you have with these great musicians considering that you were all very young and full of ideas?

These were mostly studio musicians at that time and also the best ones you could find then.

Milton Nascimento, Marcos Valle, Elis Regina and Antonio Carlos Jobim in Rio and then you moved to New York in 1968 and you started to work with the Brazilians that were already there: Luiz Bonfa, Astrud Gilberto, Walter Wanderley and again with Marcos Valle . What was the difference between composing in Brazil and composing in the States? Were there other influences at work in the States and what were they?

The major differences of working in the States versus Brazil is primarily the fact that in the States the musicians have a more serious development (studying in colleges and Universities) and a very good sense of "team" as opposed to "individual" which happens a lot in Brazil and other less developed countries. Besides, it´s much easier to find equipment and instruments in the US. Better and more advanced studios etc.

You arranged "Beach Samba" for Astrud Gilberto and you were noticed by Creed Taylor, from then on you started to produce for many artists. In which way did your musical taste change working for CTI?

I learned a lot by working with the Creed Taylor "team" (Herbie Hancock, Billy Cobham, Ron Carter, George Benson, Eric Gale, Ray Barretto and many others). My most important lesson was to be simpler and let the individual musicians create on their own, which was not the case in Brazil where I had to write note by note for the guitar, for example. As far as my "taste" in music, it did not change at all. Just my "perception" of people´s vision of "pop jazz" and other styles.

Your arrangements on CTI for Wes Montgomery, Paul Desmond, Stanley Turrentine George Benson and Tom Jobim made your style much sought after even by artists that were not essentially jazz, like Frank Sinatra (Sinatra & Co.) Roberta Flack (Killing Me Softly, Chapter Two, Quiet Fire) and Aretha Franklin (Let Me Be Your Life). How important were those collaborations for you?

It was always very important to me, to be able to get involved in diverse situations. The biggest challenge for an arranger is to be able to deal with different styles and personalities. But it is even more important to make sure that the artist achieves its goals either musically or even commercially. It´s also essential to work with the record company to make sure that they are happy enough to spend good money in promotion for that particular project. It would be a very serious mistake to go against the record company or trying to impose your musical "views" into a project that needs your help and specific work done.

And then "Prelude" in 1973 and Also Sprach Zarathustra, 2001: A Space Odyssey, right up to worldwide success and 16 platinum records, and all the other albums (at least 450 in the whole career ) on which you worked on as a musician, producer and arranger .
How did Deodato career change after that in the 70´s ...

I went "on the road" (traveling and doing concerts around the world) and met many wonderful people what in turn helped the continuation of my work even as an arranger. Also got involved with a couple of other movie soundtracks etc.

A funny thing and a curiosity : Marcos Valle told me that after exchanging his Rhodes for a DX7 he regretted it and he once came to New York to the hotel Suite where you lived and he asked you to sell him one of your Rhodes. What´s your version of this story?it makes me always smile ...

Since I had many keyboards (6 Fender Rhodes...) I agreed to sell him one of my best ones. We were always good friends...

How do you see Eumir Deodato today?

I see Eumir Deodato every day... In the mirror !!! Specially when I´m shaving...

For other infos about Deodato click the link to his site :

The French Touch

2007-12-14T11:42:00.000-08:00

Lets take a step back 30 or so years to analyse its homonymous during the 60’s / 70’s. The French sound is indisputably characteristic and it distinguishes itself musically in its Cinematic Sound as well as Library or simply on a Pop Jazz level in such that the French have always liked to experiment with electronic equipment along with acoustic instruments for realising very creative and innovative sounds. As we have already discussed in precedent issues the end of the sixties was a very fertile period for that regarding this kind of sound and it is just that on which I will be focusing by once again telling you about all that which I feel to be essential. Let’s start then with a few illustrious names… Vincent Geminiani was a French composer and sculpture who loved percussion, not intended as we intend it, but as a ‘sculpture instrument’, experimental and orchestral like, for example, ‘Le Brontè’, a kind of singular vibraphone created by him and used on many occasions, also requested by other composers. At the beginning of the seventies he created “Musique Pour Un Voyage Extraordinaire” that was nothing less that a musical comment abstract enough for a Shakespeare piece… a bit like Axelrod for William Blake.

In 1972 MPI (Musique Pour L’image), a transalpine label that specialised in post-scoring for the tv and radio, published some of his compositions amongst which a piece called “Orphis Le Serpentaire” that fully represented that which was the French sound of that period where everything was allowed and where culture, sound and style research seeped through. This song was contained on a piece of vinyl that included all of the pop experimentations of Gemiani from that period entitled ‘Modern Pop Percussion De Paris’ in which scat vocals mixed together with true bass ‘trips’, drums and ‘orchestral noises’, blossoming into beautiful pop pieces with very groovy and catchy rhythms. Another big name was Nino Nardini, a French composer of Italian origin who started his musical experience at a very early age because, just like Geminiani, he came from a family of musicians. Many of his best compositions tied to the sound in question are ‘available’ on Chappell (a French label that specialised in post-scoring music) and one of his pieces of work (re-pressed just as few years ago) that I would recommend is “Rotonde Musique” that was realised with the Pop Riviera Orchestra where the sound is very similar to that of the Mohawks but with a softer touch.. a ‘French Touch’ to be more precise.

In a previous Article I mentioned his masterpiece “Jungle Obsession”, an album to have at any cost because it represents and essential piece of musical history, I will talk again about it though for the motive I have just mentioned and also because it introduces another maestro who collaborated often with Nardini. They called themselves Roger Roger (Georges Teperino) and many of their works were helped along by Nardini for the Chappell label (the “Mood Music” volumes are proof of such…). Roger Roger were specialised in electronic amalgamated with knowledge giving, naturally, a French Touch to the orchestral parts as well as the grooves. Another pseudonym was Cecil Leuter with which was signed the masterpiece entitled “Pop Electronique”, a very rare piece of vinyl, already reviewed in ‘The Soul Beat’, that united pure electronic with pure groove! To finish off this focus on the ‘60’s French Touch’ I will cite a composer of Balkan origins who is also one of my favourites… this much sought after musician (musically of course) is Andy Lore (or Daniel White, Janko Nilovic), one of the maestro’s of Parisian library music. “Pop Impressions”, “Psich Impressions”, “Vocal Impressions”, “Pop Revolution”, “Ambience Et Rhymes” and many others are his pieces of work realised during the 60’s on labels such as Telemusic, Montparnasse 2000 and many others.
The sound of Nilovic was very unmistakable and had a certain baroque touch to it where scat vocals and orchestral parts (often abstract) were united to contemporary rhythms (60’s) and a pop jazz sound. For space reasons I have only told you about the most famous exponents of that which I define as the ‘60’s French Touch’ but many other composers and musicians have contributed to it also: names that often signed to soundtracks or post-scoring were Vladimir Cosma, Jack Arel, Dave Sucky, R. Guiot, Guy Pedersen, Francis Lay, Roland Vincent, Romauld and others. I will stop here… now its your turn to try and figure out the true origins of the ‘French Touch’. Aurevoire and.. peace now!

Interview to David Axelrod " The Axelrod Tape "

2007-12-06T10:55:00.000-08:00

Quote David Axelrod web site :

An award-winning producer for Capitol Records who produced, great jazz, funk, and soul records during the 1960s and '70s, from Stan Kenton to Lou Rawls to The Electric Prunes to Cannonball Adderley. David Axelrod created his own distinct style. He has earned one Grammy and five nominations, along with seven gold records. Serious jazz lovers will recognize his name.
Axelrod freely uses drums, horns, strings, string bass as well as woodwinds along with key board, in his compositions. Poetry has been an influence on his compositions. He is considered a visionary and the father of fusion.

As I wrote in a previous transcript I got in touch with David
Axelrod's son Dana to interview "The Maestro" .
Interviewing him for the first time was a strange sutuation for me, I
was very shy to ask all the normal questions that every Jurnalist would
like to ask, after all what more can I ask to a living legend like David
Axelrod...?
Experience, Sampling, Productions, Origins, Taste...

David Axelrod for me is a kind of " Deep Composer ", I never knew
what to call his Style, so deep so intelligent, a kind of "Baroque
orchestral message". Funk Jazz tinged ...Out of any " regola " Free from
music standards, a kind of Archetypal music.

The first time I heard him was like an illumination,
"Who can mix Classical moods , Jazz , Soul , Funk and Rock together
with God's blessing"?

So I started to research as always... and collecting... new experiences!

Song of Innocence
Song of Experience
Rock Messiah
Earth Riot

Loads of productions, lots of them sampled by big modern artists like
DJ Shadow, DR Dre and many more...

It was like living in the 70's when I received the "tape" with the
recorded answers, it was pretty strange for me receive a tape in 2007
but this is all part of the legend that is Axelrod...

I don’t have a tape recorder any more, shame on me! How times have
changed.
I found the "tape recorded" interview so cool because, Axelrod
answered me directly. Answers without questions... for me it was a type
of poetry.
When I listened to the tape I decided to put the interview here on
Jazzmotel, laid bare without questions, just like a kind of statement,
David Axelrod "SPEAKING BY HIMSELF" to answer me... the interviewer...
A true privilege and one interview I will never forget.

In the internet and electronic era it is quite cool receive a tape,
so this my friends is the "Axelrod tape!"

How you doing Alessio?

Everything is fine here in the States. It couldn’t be better.

Well, sampling and music seems to be here, although they are cutting down on it, and I don’t mind having my music sampled. I think it’s kind of neat, that so many people are interested in it, especially if it’s done right.

No, I wasn’t angry when I first heard myself being sampled, I thought it was kicks. I broke up laughing. Then came some serious samples, and if you can get someone like the way Dre did it, the way he did Next Episode, when he sampled The Edge, and what I used as the intro, he put behind the first four bars of the band. And it worked, it really did work.

Also Diamond D, the way he did things when he sampled Mental Traveller, when he put the guitars in different places than I did, and I kind of liked it, as much as what I did was the only way I had done it.

So what’s the sense of getting angry, it’s going to be done anyway, you just have to hope that whoever does it does it musically.

Well downloading is here, and it won’t be a problem once the majors figure out how to utilize it and sell their product on it. The only thing I don’t like about it, is the sound itself. Certain things become very tinny, especially if they have any kind of orchestra, the orchestra sounds very bad. If you using a quartet or a quintet or something you’re far better off. I just don’t like the sound

Well before the sixties and seventies, I was just into a great deal of jazz, as a matter of fact as from about 1954/1955 through the early 60’s, that’s all I listened to. But as I said, before that, I was listening to jazz and rhythm and blues,. People like Amos Milburn and Little Milton and others and especially T-Bone Walker.

Learning music on my own was very very difficult. I don’t recommend it. Did it add to my personal style?..Probably. Because I was already writing before I got involved with certain rules that had to be supposedly applied with. I broke those rules and now that I know better, I still break them. But you better learn. Whether it’s your own or whether it’s within a school. I’ve often told Randy Newman, who I’m very very fond of, that I envy his education at USC (*University of Southern California). A degree in music is a great help.

I don’t hear a lot of cohesive albums any more. It’s like concept-albums seem to be out. I don’t know why that is because I love concept albums and I’ve been doing them my whole musical life, starting in 1967. So why that’s not happening now I don’t know. Maybe it’s the labels. If so, they’re making a mistake. If someone has a good idea for a concept, it’s always going to be cool. Check out people like Alan Parsons

Yeah, I would like to tell your readers to check out davidaxelrodmusic.com

They will really enjoy it.
And… thank you

All the pictures curtesy of Davidaxelrodmusic.com

Carlos " Patato " Valdès

2007-12-06T10:11:00.000-08:00

I just knew from my Latin friends in America that Patato was not good ...
Then i had the bad notice from my friend Harvey Averne that the Great percussion player passed ...
I had a look around to get some infos about Him and I went to see a great article on herencialatina.com.
Nobody could explay better than Herencia Latina , the life , the feelings , the vibe and the story of thig little great Brother !
So I invite you to go there and have a read at this story .
Rest in peace Brother Patato and " beat" them all with your Congas !
Jazzmotel

David Axelrod live at Royal Festival Hall

2007-11-10T12:08:00.000-08:00

These are my sensations , my feelings about an incredible DVD concert I received from David Axelrod son , together with the Jazzmotel interview answers I send Him some time ago ...
David Axelrod is for me a living legend , His way to see the music is for me so Deep and Intelligent that I was in trouble to ask Him questions for the interview you gonna read very soon ..
It was like a kind of interview to Enoch or Moses or some other "Patriarcas" as we say in Italy .
I was very happy to get the oportunity to make a Jazzmotel style review , I really hope you enjoy it and starts , if you are not already doing it , dig into Axelrod discography cause you will find many many archetypes , style lessions and pure sensations and Deep conversations and interpretations ,
Belive me !

DAVID AXELROD LIVE AT ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL

introduction:

When I received this DVD/CD after contacting Dana Axelrod for an interview with his father (the genius David Axelrod) I decided there and then to write a sort of review so as to give my contribution and spread the word for this disc which again confirms the genius of this composer and arranger who has contributed so much to the history of Jazz.

To start with a little history , David Axelrod was born in Los Angeles in 1936. He begins early to write complex scores, orchestrations and arrangements which will bring him to define that Jazz-Funk sound with rock undertones that will make him one of the most in demand arrangers and producers of the jazz, soul, funk and rock scene from 1959 through 1999 and the present day.

Cannonball Adderley, Nat Adderley, Funk Inc., Lou Rawls, Don Randy, David McCallum, Clara Ward, The Electric Prunes and Letta Mbulu are a few of the artists that Axelrod has produced and arranged , Capitol, Warner Bros, and Prestige a few of the labels with which he has collaborated.

His records have helped to create the Hip-Hop and Trip-Hop sound and have been the source of inspiration for a new generation of musicians, influencing the styles of electronic and contemporary music amongst others.
David Axelrod is considered a genius for his interpretations of the works of William Blake and for creating a sound that to this day is contemporary, or rather, timeless.

The first thing I thought before viewing is: “Has Axelrod kept that lean sparse sound, those linear rhythms of “Song of Innocence” and “Song of Experience”?
The answer is yes , for sure ...

The chosen venue for this event is the Royal Festival Hall in London, a structure of modern architecture, situated between Waterloo and Hungerford Bridge which highlights the English passion for the past, the present and the future. A perfect combination for the music of David Axelrod.

The Hall is buzzing .Musicians, DJ’s, people form the entertainment industry and ordinary fans are waiting for an event that hasn’t been seen in 25 years; David Axelrod will direct an orchestra of 26 musicians and will perform the songs that have helped to create his legend.
Axelrod looks like a high preacher and from his “pulpit” starts to introduce this event recorded in 2005.

The Orchestra is composed of 6 Violins, 2 Violas, 2 Cellos, an Oboe, a Cor Anglais/Piccolo, 2 Saxes, a Clarinet, 2 Trumpets, a Trombone and a solid rhythm section, essential for the Axelrod sound: Double-Bass, Drums, 2 Guitars, Percussion, Vibraphone, Acoustic piano, Electric piano, Organ and a Harpsichord.

The concert begins with a Psycho Jazz re-arrangement of “Paint it Black”, especially created for this event as a tribute to the land of the Rolling Stones. From this first piece you quickly begin to understand and in the same time you have the confirm of the ability to re-arrange that Axelrod possesses. The piece is practically unrecognizable and incredible.

Axelrod seems almost to enjoy directing the orchestra. I have to say that from what I see he his able to put the musicians at ease. On the other hand, to be directed by a living legend can’t be an everyday occurrence, and for this reason the orchestra (composed of young but very competent musicians) shows good participation and perception , moving to the music and at times almost dancing to the “Beats of Axe”. Axelrod introduces The Edge "sampled by DR Dre " by stating “I hate samples” (a note to the lovers of sampled Axelrod)...

The show’s setlist comprises all his compositions from the late 60’s and early 70’s. Songs like “Holy Thursday” and “Unizen”, form “Song of Innocence”, “London”, “The Human Abstract” from “Song of Experience”, and onto “Holy Are You” taken from the album “Release from the Oath” by the “Electric Prunes” sung by the fantastic voice of an emotional and passionate Richard Ashcroft.

“The Sick Rose”, “Smile”, “Tensity” and “So Low” the only new Axelrod piece, brings London and its theater down in a nocturnal atmosphere reminiscent of Blake.
The concert is brought to an end with “Norwegian Wood”, another tribute to an English band, which confirms the deep respect that Axelrod holds for this country.
The whole concert is an alternation of straight Funky Beats , full Orchestration patterns and Deep inpirational moments wich is the perfect main line of all the best Axelrod works .
“David Axelrod Live at The Royal Festival Hall” will contribute to further your collection with intelligent, profound, baroque and timeless orchestral sounds.

I suggest you go to the Axelrod website and maybe commence your collection of his jazz works.

I hope this my review helps you to know a little more of this incredible Artist .
Be ready for the interview wich is coming pretty soon !
Love from Jazzmotel

WHAT IS JAZZ ?

2007-10-27T09:35:00.001-07:00

A night after one of my Jazzmotel DJ set sessions I was thinking about Jazz .
What is Jazz ?
How Jazz influenced me and my style ....
How the people who come and listen to me are influenced by Jazz .
After that I start to think about all the musicians and the Bands I select during this sessions and I start to think about the way they had to think about Jazz .
What their were thinking during their sessions , their compositions , their recording sessions ?
That night I decide to write a mail to my friends musicians and composers to ask them to resolve my dubt,if I can call it dubt !
So I wrote em : “tell me something about Jazz , straight from your inside” .
Some of them were nearly playing , some just composing and some just chilling...
This is what they kindly wrote me ....
I think this is a great opportunity for me and for you to see what the real players think about it !

Jazz is a clever conversation among people who admire each other , even if
they haven?t met before .
The theme must be good , so they may get excited to change ideas and
improvisations about it .

Marcos Valle

Alessio hi-Simon from the Heavies-crazy Englishman-Here's my
thoughts.......
'Jazz is the teacher, funk is the preacher'.-James Blood Ulmer. That
statement says it all. Jazz is Dead?! But what is Jazz? As I sit here
in my hotel room in New York writing this, Roland Kirk comes on my ipod
randomly-It sounds so alive. In my life as a member of the Brand New
Heavies Jazz has been many things-a dance music, a way of approaching
soloing, a cheesy thing, a place of great individuality and
interaction. It's as indefinable as the origin of the word is
untraceable. Jazz has had genres where it can be named-from 'Dixieland
to Be-Bop and on.The greatest Jazz musician of the last century, Louis
Armstrong, created a starting place for a music that through the
decades has by the very nature of it's essence fused into the
undefined. It's a social music that as it met many other styles over
the decades became absorbed into them and visa versa. I personally love
fusion-Africa meets Europe in America. I'm gonna keep this short and
give some recommended listening n reading if that's o.k.
Books-Beneath The Underdog-Charles Mingus-Has e real good tip on a
great sex technique! Straight Life-Art Pepper. Has a great story of
when his wife woke him up and tells him she's booked a session with the
famous Miles Davis Rhythm section. But he's not played for a while n is
strung out-but he makes the studio and records an album-the great thing
is, you can buy the album he made n hear these guys meeting n talking
thru music right there.That stuff don't happen no more.
Tunes-
West End Blues-Louis Armstrong (1927)
Fly Town Nose Blues-Roland Kirk (Check this out on youtube)
Shit it's 5 a.m and I've got a gig tomorrow! Hi JAZZMOTEL, Seeya, Si.

Simon Bartholomew ( The Brand new Heavies )

Namaste Alessio,
At a time when Jazz is fast disappearing world-wide from our radio stations and Jazz clubs disappearing in the USA.

We celebrate the freedom principle!
We give thanks for the inspiration information passed on by the leading lights, Byrd, Miles, Dizzy, Trane and the rest.
We play and we dance, and we find peace and much love.
For like you...Music is my sanctuary and Jazz my citadel.
Bluey
( Incognito)

Jazz is the ultimate spontaneous expression.

Alan Hawkshaw ( Composer , Organist KPM & Mohawks )

Jazz is rhythm, busy yet smooth
Jazz is also a wonderful groove
Jazz never dies, doesn't tell lies
If you will listen your life can improve
Jazz is a music form that stretces out, far and wide, to underscore vibes, thoughts, feelings, and vision. It is expressive, eclectic and very special to the ears and imagination. You can be taken on a journey, or just groove, or both.

JAZZ BY JOHN MANUEL ( Ramp )

JAZZ IS A RARE ART FORM THAT LET'S A MUSICIAN EXPRESS HIS VIEWS TOWARDS HIS CRAFT.. THERE ARE MANY FORMS OF JAZZ AND EACH ONE COMPLIMENTS THE OTHER. THANK GOD FOR THE PIONEERS OF JAZZ WHO MADE IT POSSIBLE TO DEVELOP THIS GREAT MUSICAL EXPERIENCE.------------
CHEERS JOE BATAAN

Hey Alessio, good to hear from you, and glad that your gonna be a dad. We
the people of the planet must continue and combine our efforts to make the
future free for our children, anything less than that is a betrayal of our adult responsibilities.
As for Jazz, my poem "Jazzoetry" expresses my impressions and thoughts on the Art Form.
Also "Bird's Word"....
Peace In, and all the best.........
Jalal

JAZZMOTEL BELIEVE IN FREEDOM !

2007-09-26T11:44:00.000-07:00

We know you got soul , BROTHER !

2007-09-13T12:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was not a great day for me and for all the Funky Soul lovers , Mr Bobby Byrd is gone in Heaven to let everybody know ( if theres someone who does'nt know ) that he got Soul !

Love to you Bobby and thanks for give us Funk , Hubleness and Soul .
Rest in Peace Brother .

JAZZMOTEL 2000

2007-09-05T10:09:00.000-07:00

Thank you Jazzmotel arrive at 2000 visit ...just from the day i decide to put a counter...few months ago !

I Would like to say thanks to all of you who visited and continue to visit my JazzMotel .
2000 is not BAD , I was only looking for a place where to put my passion and my researches available for all ...
As I sayd this Motel is all I like , all I know and all I would like to know about Jazz , Soul , Funk , Indo Jazz, Latin Jazz, Soul Jazz , Funky Jazz , Boogaloo , Library and Jazzy Groovy things from the 60's and the 70's .
Here I have guest people and idols like Larry Harlow , Joe Bataan , Harvey Averne , Brian Auger , Alan Hawkshaw , Terry Callier , Marva Whitney , Airto , Don Baaska and Valli Scavelli , Dr Lonnie Smith , John Manuel of the RAMP , Azymuth and Marcos Valle .
They help me to understand many more things discovering that all of this guys are very Cool and very simple , this is a lesson...
I hope to guest many other greats of this kind of JAZZ that change my life when I was a Boy and makes me became a DJ when I was 20 .
So now click on all my posts and read this incredible world called JAZZ !
sorry for my english and...

PEACE ALLOVER THE LAND

DJ ALESSIO BERTO

introducing Mr Terry Callier

2007-08-03T11:06:00.000-07:00

Terry Callier was Born in Chicago were also Curtis Mayfield, Jerry Butler, Ramsey Lewis and more was .Terry Callier began studying the piano at the age of three, he writed his first songs at the age of 11.
In the College period , he learned to play guitar and setting up residency at a Chicago .
In that city he coming to the attention of Chess Records arranger Charles Stepney, who produced Callier's debut single "Look at Me Now" , it was 1962.
In 1964, Callier met Prestige label producer Samuel Charters, and a year later they went in the studio to record his LP "The New Folk Sound of Terry Callier "( Prestige ).
The album went unreleased before finally appearing in 1968.
With his friend Jerry Butler's they starts the Chicago Songwriters Workshop and composed material for local labels including Chess and Cadet, one of the famous was the Dells' 1972 smash "The Love We Had Stays on My Mind."
Stepney, now a producer at Cadet, release Callier 1973's "Occasional Rain", an incredible fusion of folk and jazz which laid the groundwork forexplored on the following year's "What Color Is Love?"
Callier works were not so commercial, and after 1975's LP "I Just Can't Help Myself" he finished his relation with Cadet.
In 1978 he starts a new relation with Elektra's Jazz Fusion of Don Mizell, they release the orchestrated "Fire on Ice" followed in 1979's by "Turn You to Love", with this album he cracked the pop charts with the single "Sign of the Times" known thanks the legendary WBLSFM DJ Frankie Crocker. After Electra he largely disappeared from music in the early '80s.
Callier continued composing songs, till 1991 when he received a telephone call from Eddie Piller, the boss of he U.K. label Acid Jazz. Piller ask the permission to rerelease Callier's littleknown single from 1983, "I Don't Want to See Myself (Without You)" and the rest is history ...
Callier stars to collaborate , touring and release his new works after decades of stop .
Now Terry Callier is still going great and his consider most important exponebt of Folk-Jazz sound .

Terry Callier Discography :

New Folk Sound of Terry Callier (1964)
Occasional Rain (1972)
What Coloor is love 1973
I Just Can't Help Myself 1975
Fire on Ice 1978
Turn you to love 1979

Interview to Terry Callier

2007-08-03T10:52:00.000-07:00

After meet him in Milan and get back to him at Jazz Cafe in London , Mr Terry Callier pleased me with this interview that confirm Callier as a Great musician and a Great man.
Thanks Terry .

Wich were your favoutrites musicians in the beginning , who influenced more your taste and style ?

In the very beginning I was influences by doo-wah (sometimes referred to as 'doo-wop' ) groups like Sonny Til and the Orioles, the Spaniels, the Ravens, the Diamonds, The 4 Seasons and gospel artists like the Soul Stirers with Sam Cooke, Sister Rosetta Thorpe and Rev. James Cleveland. After I started listnening to jazz, my favorites were John Coltrane, Miles, the Modern Jazz Quartet, Oscar Peterson, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughn, Dinah Washington, Ray Charles and many, many others.

When you met Charles Stepney from Chess records Terry Callier thing started , how did you met him ? and how it was important for the starting of your career .

I first met Charles Stepney at a recording session for Chess records. He was the arranger for a group of singles that included "Look At Me Now". The producer was Esmond Edwards and the musicians included Paul Serrano on trumpet and Phil Upchurch on guitar. It was my first recording session and more or less set the tone for the rest of my career.
Then with Prestige Records your first album "New Folk Sound of Terry Callier "....
I was playing at a club in Chicago called 'Mother Blues' and the owner of the spot introduced me to a producer from Prestige Records names Sam Charters. He asked me if I was ready to do an album and naturally I said I was. He told me the budget would be small but I could use two other musicians. I had been listening to a lot of early Coltrane on record where he had experimented with two bass players and I told Sam that was what I wanted to do. So the instrumentation on "New Folk Sound" was acoustic guitar, vocals and two acoustic bass players.

In 1973 Occasional Rain started a kind of Folk-Jazz thing , how this blend did born ?

Again, this was influenced by Coltrane. He had passed away by this time and I was listening to a lot of Miles Davis, so he was also influential in terms allowing musicians to play what they felt and approaching the music as a group project.

"Orinary Joe" and "Look at me now " are 2 songs that are very" Callier ", please can you tell me some things happened during the writing , recording of these 2 great songs ?
I mean the feeling , the vibe ...

"Look At Me Now" was among the first songs that I recordsd for Chess records. I had been writing songs since I was 13 years old and this was one that the Chess brothers liked. I was trying to convince my mother that a career in music wouldn't be so bad and I was more or less talking directily to her . . . "Well my mama thinks that I just fake it -- 'Cause I do things she don't understand ..." Eventually she did
accept the fact that I wasn't going to be a doctor or lawyer.

"Ordinary Joe" took me the longest time to write of any other song that ever happened to me. I was carrying the main riff around for three or four years before I had a clue as to what it was going to be about o what it was going to say. Then one day it just fell on me line by line. I didn't know what the title was until the last verse had written itself. I never like to say I wrote this or that because that's not the way it goes down. Songs just seem to happen to me or more accurately are presented to me from the Creative Source. I wish I could say more about it but I truly can't . . .

In 1975's I Just Can't Help Myself was le last record with Cadet , than you passed with Electra under the head of Don Mizell .
Wich were the differences of Callier sound betwen this two labels ?

The first ablum recorded for Elektra ("Fire on Ice") was a continuation of what I had done with Charles Stepney at Chess. The second album ("Turn You To Love") had a disco influence and one track "Sign of the Times" made the Billboard charts and was used as a them by Frankie Crocker, a well-respected and popular DJ who was broadcasting from New York.

After Electra experience you desapear untill somebody , in 1991 called you to ask the permission to reissue "I Don't Want to See Myself (Without You)" (1983 ).
Acid Jazz movement were born and your new career too .
What can you tell me about this thing , were you surprised ?

I stopped performing in 1983 in order to take care of my daughter. She called me from California and told me she wanted to live with me in Chicago. There was no way I could refuse and I knew that music wouldn't provide the kind of things I wanted her to have. I attended a computer training school (Control Data Institute in Chicago) and eventually was hired as a temporary employee at the University of Chicago. They made me a staff employee in '85 with paid vacations, healthe insurance and most of the things a single parent needed.

I was at my desk a few years later and received a call from Eddie Piller of Acid Jazz Records in London. He tolld me that "I Don't Want to See Myself Without You" was being played around the UK and asked if we could re-issue the disk. It took a while for him to convince me it was a genuine offer and we worked out an agreement to put the song out in the UK. To my suprise, it proved to be quite popular and led to concerts and glub gigs in the UK and Eurpoe.
Then you started touring , recording and collaborations with lots of musicians and DJ 's ...
The first artist I worked with was Beth Orton. Then there was 4Hero, Zero Seven, Koop, Ian Poole, Paul Weller - - - I'm forgetting some important names here and I apologize for that.

What you think about this rebirth of 60's and 70's Jazzy music started in late 80's ?

Remixes of jazz recordings from the 60's and 70's exposed that music to a new generation and did the music and the people a lot of good. There's almost always a method of updating good sounds so they can be appreciated by new listeners.

Whats your plan for the future ?

The future is difficult to see. I'd like a chance to release new forms of music with new ideas including Jazz, R&B, trip-hop and hip-hop influences. Hopefully, this will take place soon. Thank you for the interest . . .

Introducing " Get off the Ground "aka " The Bottom End "

2007-07-16T12:54:00.000-07:00

Everything started in 1988 circa when Acid Jazz records issue their 2nd maxi 45 Jazid 2T .
Side one : The Byron Morris Unity " Kitty Bey " and Side two :Brother Davis Miles " The Bottom End"(Jazid 1T were Galliano " Frederic Lies Still ") .
When I heard the side 2 i falled in love with that kind of " speed Jazz with an electric Acid taste thing " with a kind of outroduction by an incredible female voice .
After then I started to ask to my usual record dealers allaroud if there were an Lp ...nothing, nobody knew that Band .
In many years of reserching I never find out this Band called Brother Davis Miles .
After many years , during a gig together with Eddie Pilller I asked him something about but he just says " its a very rare thing , don't remember " ...( professional reasons)?
Some times ago after years of researching without anything find , I started again and I find out everything in a kind of magical way ...
Everything happened thanks to a DJ from London called Seymour Nurse and his web site " The Botton End " ( see links and visit it !).
The incredible thing was that after few days I had the big fortune to find a copy of the original one , It looks like theres only few copies pressed ...
To see all this story I want you to go to my friend Seymour's site and enjoy all the big work he did , because thanks him I find a great treasure to put on the Jazzmotel Deluxe Suite ! and I never could do a better work than Him .
But first I would like to tell you that I was lucky again cause I get in touch with the man who played that incredible track , not Brother Davis Miles but a man called Don Baaska his wife Valli Scavelli .
Please enjoy the interview and read some friends comments about that trasure , cooments by Seymour Nurse and the incredible Chriss Bangs who were the first one to find that record in the early 80's and start together with Paul Murphy , Gilles Peterson and later Eddie Piller " The Bottom end " Saga .

Chriss Bangs quote:

"When I first picked up an interesting record while diggin' the crates 20-odd years ago, I little thought that that record would go on to acquire the legendary status that it has achieved over the years. Looking back you can see why Murphy turned it into such an anthem, as it has everything a DJ could possibly want from a record…
DJ'ing on a rare record scene, which is what all us Jazzers were doing at the time, you look for certain things in a record:
1) Exclusivity - well, it took 20-odd years before even another copy was found!
2) Longevity - timeless bass, driven hard jazz that was never out of fashion 'cos it was never in fashion either!
3) Mystery - the record itself gave no clue to who it was by- it just said "THE BOTTOM END" on the sleeve. One side was with some geezer noodling around on a church organ and the other side had this dirty live jammin' jazz cut direct to disc with enuff bass…. and it just played really, really, really loud!!
On the Northern soul scene people used to cover up records, so no one else could get hold of a copy- this was so obscure you didn't even need to bother - perfect! Add to that a few dodgy bootleg releases and you have a record that's been one of the most in demand and hard to get on the planet! Until now!!"
Chris Bangs

Seymour Nurse quote:

Ken Kreisel (who produced the track), said that, "not many were pressed", but he could not remember exactly how many were cut.
A few have turned up on ebay...
I recently managed to get hold of the original acetate/test pressing of The Bottom End/ Get off the Ground. I still cannot believe it, as only 1 or 2 of these are in existence.
Best,
Seymour

Interview to Don Baaska and Valli Scavelli

2007-07-16T12:37:00.000-07:00

I know you went to Puertorico in the mid 50's , many musicians did the  opposite , see the New York Barrio Bands and musicians .. Which were your musical influences in the beginning ?  

Baaska : Nat Cole and Teddy Wilson were my first influences. Then Errol Garner &  Monk. Currently my favorite pianist is Jay McShan. He takes it back to  basics. I didn't go to Puerto Rico to play music. Just got drunk one night in Key  West and the bartender & I ended up in San Juan on a DC 3 with a load of  live chickens and decided to stay and got a hotel gig.   

Many of your compositions tastes Latin but with a strong American Jazz  feeling , how did your musical taste changed during your staying in South  America?

  Baaska : Necessity. I don't do day jobs and Latin music was what was needed and  wanted although the musicians I worked with appreciated my Jazz harmony and  phrasing. I absorbed the clave by osmosis, playing with some great Latin  rhythm sections.  

Talking about the famous " Get off the Ground " aka " The Bottom End "... I own the Acid Jazz reissue from the late eighties , many time i was looking  for the existance of possible LP or other things about the Band called  Brother Davies Miles ... I Spoke to Eddie Piller about where he get the record from , but he were  always not clear about the origin of that tune , just says " Its a very rare  tune ". From Gilles Peterson I already heard about the " Short " version sunged ,  but I thought it was a Janet Lawson tune..and I was not the only one ... At the end , thanks to DJ Seymour Nurse I realize that it was a Baaska and  Scavelli song, made during a kind of "rehearsal" and recorded to test a Sub  Woofer ...incredible , isnt it ? It's true the fact that you did'nt know that tune were released , and that  it was also one of the more Jazz-dance tunes in the London Jazz scene ?

  Baaska : Yeah, that was a big surprise!  A thing that I always liked on that track was the Jazz Trio combo with  Electric Piano feeling ...very underground in that way ..In wich occasion  you use to get the Fender Rhodes sound ?  Baaska : I was enamored with the Rhodes and used it with effects and for a while in  the 70's preferred it to acoustic and used it on all gigs. It also  complimented Valli's voice very well. I wish I still had it. But I found a  new love in the DX 7 and gave the Rhodes to a kid to practice on. Right now  I record on a Roland EP 7 but really prefer an acoustic for performance when  available. Hell, whatever has keys on it I can make do with.

   I really like " Floating " tune sound , can you tell us if there are more  Baaska tracks that sounds like "Get off the Ground" so you can save us other  20 years of researching ...ha ha !

  Baaska : Yeah, the whole Album "Planet of the Seven Moons" 12 songs. It's on my web  site with some sound samples. www.donbaaska.com Can send you a copy if you like. The production on some of  the tracks is a bit primitive but the feel is good.  

At the end, whats your feeling about all whole story that takes people more  than 20 years to realize that you are the composer and performer of that  amazing Rare Jazz Dance track !?

  Baaska : Hey, shit happens

  Mrs Valli :

  Which where your musical influence when you start to sing ?which singers did  inspire you?  

Valli Scavelli : My first love was Sinatra and of course Sarah, Ella & Billie. But Annie Ross  was the big one. 

About Ennio Morricone

2007-04-25T02:09:00.000-07:00

From when the first re-pressings started in mid 90's , thanks to a few Italian labels such as Dagored and Cinevox, there has been a rebirth of passion for the cinematic soundtracks from the 60’s! Of all the composers the most imitated, cited, compiled and remixed is, without a doubt, the Maestro Ennio Morricone. It was way back in 1976 when my mother listened to the soundtrack to Anonimo Veneziano (Stelvio Cipriani) and Metti Una Sera A Cena (Ennio Morricone) on the re-pressing of the 70’s ‘targeted’ Cinevox (a white label) whilst the original went back to 1969. Maybe it was then that inside me was born, without knowing, my passion for the ‘melancholic affectionate tense beat’ (is how I define it) of Morricone, even if it has only been the past few years that I have been hunting down his original albums, amongst other things very rare and very expensive (for a change). I came across a 45 sung in Italian by Astrud Gilberto a very famous Brazilian singer; the song was called “Argomenti” and it was the vocal version (as I mentioned) that wasn’t present on the album, of the principal theme to “Le Casse”… with that piece my passion was ignited! Those who know Morricone (I am now talking about, as always, the 60’s and 70’s period) will agree with me that his style is unmistakable… of course, it is his style! I find that in his soundtracks there are some very common timings, rather ‘bossa like’, with some simple basslines and strings that very often are repeated, almost like ‘proto loops’. One thing that, in my opinion, makes him the most compiled and sampled, is the fact that his musical score is never very complex, no, they are very linear where the principal theme, just like it should be, shines through and it is never excessively constructed, if you can say that, and that is what makes it sample worthy! Mine is not an ‘academic’ musical culture, even so I believe that I can understand, more or less, the construction and articulation of a piece, I therefore feel that I can state that his style is evident through his genial and great simplicity! I hope that I haven’t run down the Maestro, I don’t think so seeing as he is one of my idols… I will open up a section to say that, just like nearly all composers, Morricone also created many post scorings for Cam, especially those where he could allow himself to include more hazardous material without being tied down by the commercial side of things or even by the directors (even if this is something that happened very rarely). There are many soundtracks by Morricone and some of them contain also some dance pieces that are still nowadays objects of desire by many DJ/Producers. Some of these songs can be found on “Le Foto Proibite Di Una Signora Per Bene”, “Gli Intoccabili”, “La Donna Dalla Pelle Di Lucertola”, “Metti Una Sera A Cena”, “Revolver” and “Menage All’Italiana”… naturally dance pieces in my kind of way, those of the SoulBeat! There are also many faces, as you might say, of “Ennio”: from jazz, beat, bossanova to music of orchestral tension, to pop rock, even pure camera music (which is one of his passions). There is also a lot of instrumentation used for the so called Groovy: from the Hammond organ, electric Harpsichord, Indian Sitar played by another Maestro, Alessandro Alessandrini, already a component of I Cantori Moderni that, thanks to their unmistakable scat, even today their musical executions are characteristic and actual! Morricone even today is helped out by some fantastic singers, ‘tenors’ and non, but the names of the past like Edda Dell’Orso or Nora Orlandi are nowadays musts, on par with Astrud Gilberto, Joan Baez or Florinda Bolkan who sang for him on a version of “Metti Una Sera A Cena” that can be found on a very rare 45. Getting back to today and the theme for this months column I would also like to talk to you about a label called Compost (one of my favourites in the electronic music ambient) that has taken to heart many pieces of Morricone and has had them remixed creating some great quality compilations. The result is a mixture of electronic, scat, groove and electronic effects that, for those who don’t know the original pieces, could pass easily as nu jazz records or something similar but in reality these CD’s represent an intelligent way of re-visiting a ‘genial orchestral’ sound from thirty years ago, maintaining fresh and creative like in its origins! To note, and appreciate, the hard work that many DJ’s do when trying to make 4/4 pieces that were born 3/4 or even 7/8… incredible! Raw Deal, Needs, Butti 49, Alex Attias and International Pony are just some of the names on the new ‘Morricone remix’ panorama of Compost! “Psycho Morricone”, “Erotico Morricone”, “Mood Morricone”, “Mondo Morricone”, “Assoluto Morricone” etc… are just some of the compilations, with original songs, that can now be found in circulation whilst “Metti Una Sera A Cena”, “Oceano”, “L’assoluto Naturale”, “Verushka”, “Menage All’Italiana”, “Le Foto Proibite Di Una Signora Per Bene”, “Le Casse”, “Il Poliziotto Della Brigata Criminale”, “La Donna Dalla Pelle Di Lucertola” and “Indagine Su Un Cittadino Al Di Sopra Di Ogni Sospetto” are just some of the must haves recommended by me! Peace pretty soon all over the land!

RIGHT ON ! The Last Poets

2007-04-23T11:54:00.000-07:00

Everything started when two Poets and a percussionist decided to become spiritually and artistically responsible for the beginning of a movement born for continuing the African oral traditions but above all for becoming reason bringers to the Afro-American population. David Nelson, Gylan Kain, Charles Davis aka Abiodun, Raymond Hurrey aka Nilija Obabi, Felipe Luciano, Umar Bin Hassan, Sulieman El-Hadi and Jalaluddin Mansur Nurridin (Jalal) are the most famous pf those who would go on to become ‘The Last Poets’. It all started in New York in 1969 when Nelson and Davis, whilst celebrating the birthday of Malcolm X in a park, decided to form a collective for reading poetry continuing the African verbal method, used this time though for putting in evidence the situation of the black social classes in America during that period. The first idea was that of creating some musical bases over which you could read writings, even if not all of the Poets managed to sing in the same way, thus it was decided to make up a neutral base of percussion bongos as a background. “Are You Ready Nigger? You Got To Be Ready” was the first ‘message’ from the trio that was made up of Nelson, Kain and Oyewole and that is how the legend started. The ‘Last Poets’ was chosen as the name through an inspiration from a poem by K. William Kgostile from South Africa: “This wind you hear is the birth of memory. When the moment hatches in times womb, there is no more art talk. The only poem you’ll hear will be the spear point pivoted in the punctured marrow of the villain, the timeless native son dancing like crazy to the retrieved rhythms of desire fading into memory” to which Nelson added: “Therefore, we are the Last Poets of the World”. At that point the ‘Last Poets’ were officially born. The formation was, and still is today, very elastic and interchangeable, Jalal for example entered on the second album after being in prison for refusing to take part in the Vietnam war. The first recordings were on the Douglas label of the jazz producer Alan Douglas. The first album “The Last Poets” was a manifestation against the white oppression as well as the passiveness and lack of wanting to create and fight back by the blacks… “The Last Poets” Douglas 1970, “This Is Madness” Douglas 1971, “Chastisement” Douglas 1972, “Hustlers Convention” (with Jalal Nuriddin recording as ‘lightning rod’ Douglas 1973, “At Last” Blue Thumb 1974, “Delights Of The Garden” Celluloid 1975, “Jazzoetry” Celluloid 1975, “Oh My People” Celluloid 1985, “Freedom Express” Celluloid 1991, “Be Bop Or Be Dead” (Umar Bin Hassan with Abiodun Oyewole) Axiom/Island 1993, “25 Years” (Abiodun Oyewole with Umar Bin Hassan) Rykodisc 1994, “Holy Terror” Rykodisc 1995 and “Time Has Come” Mouth Almighty/Mercury 1997 are just a few of their records from the 70’s onwards. As the years passed the sound of the Last Poets became ever more structured and the support band changed regularly characterising every time their sound which was always different. In 1971 “This Is Madness” got the Last Poets added to the ‘Counter Intelligence Programming lists’ of Nixon… some of them were put under surveillance and were also interrogated regularly by the FBI. In 1972 Jalal added the jazz drummer Sulieman El-Hadi to the band who introduced a jazzy sound, thus “Jazzoetry” was born, poetry over a jazz base. In 1973 Jalal, under the ‘Lighting Rod’ pseudonym (already used in 1969 for recording with Jimmy Hendrix and Buddy Miles “Doriella Du Fontaine”) recorded an album entitled “Hustlers Convention” that, supported by bands like Kool And The Gang, Buddy Miles and many other musicians of the Funk/Blues scene consecrated definitely that which today we call RAP. The Last Poets carried on, as they still are today, even in smaller numbers or also as solo artists like Jalal who has recorded for other lesser known labels… Today Umar Bin Hassan and Abiodun Oyewole continue on their own whist Jalal has moved to England in the 80’s where he keeps his career going at www.grandfatherofrap.com coming out some time ago with the album “Science Friction” for the English label Subtonix as the singer Bernard Alexandre. These so called precursors of modern day RAP have had their albums sampled by many rappers and hip hop bands: “Run Nigger” from their very first self titled album was sampled by NWA, Hurricane and Paris, “Niggers Are Afraid Of Revolution” by Brand Nubian and Third Eye, “When The Revolution Comes” was used by Notorius BIG in his “Party And Bullshit”. Galliano, the first Acid Jazz rapper was clearly inspired by Jalal who also contributed on the recording of “Acid Jazz And Other Illicit Grooves” in 1988, a manifestation of the first English scene of this genre. Today these Poets of civil rights, black and non, are considered guru’s and their albums are collected by lovers of rap, jazz and also be-bop! To finish off I would like to leave you with a couple of lines from a letter that Jalal wrote to me some time ago: “The people require affection, protection and direction and there are eight points on a compass, the east and the west are only two”. Peace all over the land.

Interview to John Manuel of Ramp

2007-04-14T12:39:00.000-07:00

Everything started about 1964 when you met Lady Shores and you formed the Regals, Tell me about those times? What inspired you?

Just performing for people was a high interest, a feeling inside that would never go away, like something I was meant to do. Inspiration was James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Wes Montgomery even. Those times were fun when you were able to play and maybe get paid for it! There were many
bands, called Band and show back then, and most were pretty good. It was fun, but
the greatest inspiration was seeing or hearing pros and wanting to be one also one day.

Then in 1969 you won the “Battle of Bands” and a whole lot of instruments and a recording contract. Everything went well and then the Spinners took over your rhythm and horn section and a new era was born.

Right. What a rush.

After the Spinners joined Atlantic, you left the Band and returned to Cincinnati and with the experienced gained you formed the “Saturday Night Special” who were the archetypes of the Ramps.

Right, wanting to form a group that blended jazz with soul and funk. Classy music.

How much influence did Bernard Pretty Purdie have on your drummer style?

Quite a bit. He was a legend, and showed interest in me. He always allowed me to play his drums and I learned from how he tuned them, played them, and was such a precise drummer and bandleader after King Curtis died.

You then met Roy Ayers who gave his contribution to the birth of the Ramps.

Right, we opened a show for him and he really dug us.

How did “Come into Knowledge” come about? Is it true that ABC didn’t much promote that record contributing thus to the break-up of the Ramps?

Roy signed us to his production company, as we must have had a sound, vibe, look and the personnel he wanted. He produced us for ABC/Blue Thumb Records. We were on a label with after a new President took the label over, Steve Deiner. We were devastated, not understanding how such work was not being promoted.

I am a big fan of Roy Ayers and you can hear his influence on your album. What was his contribution to that record?

Roy is a Master. It is no secret that I loved his sound before ever meeting him. His influence was reflected in our music when we opened for him that night, and I believe he felt it. My bandmates were absolutely the right people for what we were doing, and he knew it too I believe. For it to come together was not only a dream, it was surreal, divine, and I realized the power of our Creator when it happened. I do not speak on this feeling much associated with hooking up
with Roy, but I tell you it was awesome to see it unfold. We felt, and still feel, very special, and meant to deliver a sound and style of message to all who will listen.

What do you think to the fact that thanks to those styles (Hip Hop/Acid Jazz) which began at the end of the 80’s, many bands have been rediscovered and bought back to their well earned fame?

I think it is fantastic, and testament to all that good music that came before. It is said that there is really nothing new, just a re-work of what was laid down before. We really appreciate being brought back.

I too discovered the Ramps thanks to the A Tribe Called Quest single and thanks to a few white label compilations that I played during my first DJ sets in the long gone
early 90’s…Now, after so many years, it’s even possible to find reprints of your album. What do you think of this rediscovery?

Great, great great. Now there is a cd.

And Lp reissue too ( I say ) ....

I know that you recently reformed and played at London’s Jazz Café. What effect did
it have playing for a whole new generation of listeners that very much appreciates
your style?

It was heavenly, and we loved experiencing young fans singing our lyrics,
as well as seeing our generation come out to support us. Many times we are told that
we need new music for fans to want to see us. At the same time, our experience in London and the e-mails I get daily from all over the world from young and older, suggests that fans want to see us perform even the 1977 music because they have not seen us do it before. It is magical to perform those songs, and fans beat on the floor and walls screaming for us to stop the song and start over. Wow!

interview by Alessio Berto
Pictures curtesy of John Manuel

introducing the Ramp

2007-04-14T12:34:00.000-07:00

In 1964 RAMP's guitarist Landy Shores was at Hughes High, while RAMP's drummer and bandleader, John Manuel was a sophomore at nearby Walnut Hills.
At that time they formed the Ragals , rehearsing in Manuel’s basement.
After some years they came into contact with the Spinners and became their Rhythm section.
In 1975 John Manuel formed the Saturday Night Special who were the Ramp archetype. Now all the group needed was some vocalists .
Sibel Thrasher and Sharon Matthews were the right ones for his band .
Now the group was complete and they launched their signature for the version of "Sweet Thing" by Rufus & Chaka Khan.
After that, one night in 1976 they came across Roy Ayers who after seeing them play live said "They had a togetherness about them that just worked,"

They changed their name into RAMP and started doing a lot of gigs in New York and other places together with Roy Ayers’ Ubiquity and experienced a pretty good period of fame.
A Ramp lp was due and people were waiting for it...
After a contract with ABC Records Ayers produced their album called "Come into Knowledge" but ABC records didn’t promoted it very well because of some kind of internal problem.
After a year of concerts everybody went their separate ways and the story finished...
In 1989 a Hip Hop Band called “A Tribe Called Quest " sampled the intro from a " Come into Knowledge" song called " Daylight " and the rest is history.

Today everybody is looking for the RAMP Lp and songs like "Daylight ", the Roy Ayers’ Ubiquity version of “Everybody Loves The Sunshine " or " I Just Love You " are more than ever considered worthy .
Their sound is very fresh and cool !
Now “ Everybody loves the Ramp!”

.....And they are still performing today ...

The Ramp are:

John Manuel (Drums and Percussion)

Sharon Matthews (Lead Vocals)

Sibel Thrasher (Lead Vocals)

Nate White (Bass)

and Landy Shores (Guitar

Let's get a Spiritual change !

2007-04-13T12:22:00.000-07:00

It has been said that we have been in the age of Aquarius since the 70’s but the spirituality of which there has been much talk of so far has been from the music, especially from that period! This opening has served me as a spring board because this month I want to tell you about ‘Spiritual Jazz’ and ‘Cosmic Jazz’… One of the first to take spiritualism forward in jazz was definitely John Coltrane, this started with “A Love Supreme” in the 60’s. One of his saxophone players, Pharoah Sanders, dug deeper into the argument up until the 70’s and over, together with pianist Lonnie Smith and the poet Leon Thomas. Many others, amongst whom the wife of Coltrane Alice and another great pianist Lonnie Liston Smith with the Cosmic Echoes, took part in this movement of universal pacifist inspiration. Those mentioned are surely the most significant exponents of Cosmic Jazz, we must also underline that many of them were clearly inspired by religion from the Middle East and the Hindu philosophy (which can also be seen in the titles of some of the songs) and the principal themes still remained peace and spirituality. The most frequent theme, in fact, regarded peace of mind or subjects about general peace that also included the Gods. Very often they cited African populations as the centre of the world as well as all those populations who were sacrificed in those lands! “The Creator Has A Masterplan” by Leon Thomas and “Prince Of Peace Hum Allah Hum Allah” by Pharoah Sanders, Thomas and Lonnie Smith, are the clearest manifestations of this Jazz that was later retaken by some greats during the beginning of the nineties such as the Galliano Project who made it more danceable and famous! I will open a small section now by saying that the theme of that period ‘Peace, Love, Unity, Respect, etc..’ was the basis of the Acid Jazz philosophy and even I done some gigs to try and gain support and back up for Amnesty International… for me, however, it has still remained the same! The characteristic of this Cosmic Jazz is, in particular, that of the so called jazz musicians, the use of very open sounds with African percussion up front, poetic verses that involuntarily created the bases of rap, piano solos or hypnotic Rhodes and riffs of astral saxes. All this lasted up until the 80’s and the song “Upper Egypt” by Sanders demonstrates such! Lonnie Liston Smith and the Cosmic Echoes came very close to cosmic funky-jazz by using a highly effected Fender Rhodes with Wah Wah and Echoes and funky grooves to create a sound that to say the least is very astral! “Expansions” is their better known song, that which has the bassline intro which was also taken by the Dream Warriors (a noted Hip Hop group from the 90’s) to put together their hit “Talkin’ All That Jazz”. Now though let’s go back to the end of the sixties, a period when Alice Coltrane made an album on Impulse that, for me, remains a masterpiece of Cosmic Jazz with Hindu flavours: “Journey In Sachananda”, a record that is a true and proper journey into the most astral India where Indian drums, accompanied by the typical Tabla percussion, make up the base for the hypnotic harp of Alice and sax of Sanders… a true interior trip that all of us should make! After this introduction to the theme, as is usual I will now go through my archives to suggest some pieces of vinyl that are necessary when going on such a trip! Starting with Pharoah Sanders I will point out “Village Of The Pharoahs”, “Elevation” and “Summun Bukmun Umyun” whilst for the discography of Lonnie Liston Smith head straight for “Vision Of A New World”, “Expansions” and “Cosmic Funk”. I will also tell you about a lovely album by Alice Coltrane that has been inspired by the sound of John (Coltrane): we are talking about “Ptah, The El Daoud”. The cosmic poetry of Leon Thomas finds its maximum expression in “Spirits Known And Unknown”, “New Vocal Frontiers”, “The Leon Thomas Album” and “Full Circle” on the Flying Dutchman label. To finish off I cannot leave out an album that for me remains a masterpiece of modern Jazz, a record that is and will remain always on a superior level, “In Pursuit Of The 13th Note” by Galliano that came out on Talkin Loud in 1991. Many artists, however, have tinted cosmically their records and amongst these I will mention names such as Bob James, Gabor Zsabor, Pat Martino, Roy Ayers, Cannonball Adderley, Last Poets, Jalal and many others. Time to close again, as always but even more than ever, we need peace all over the land!

JIMMY SMITH

2007-04-09T11:19:00.000-07:00

Nowadays organic products can be found in all shops that are biological and non but just as out bodies need to be nourished by genuine products of quality our minds are also ever more in need of sound culture. Many times in the past I have spoken to you about an instrument that made history in the music of Soul, Jazz, Blues, R’n’B and never like today has it been used, sampled and sought after. Many times I have talked about who used it, who sought it out and who sampled it but I have only slightly mentioned who made it indispensable, innovative and a cult object. Jimmy Smith, born in December 1928 and sadly passed away just a few months ago started to play the Piano with his father in the 1940’s. In 1947, after leaving school early, he decided to enlist at the Ornstein School Of Music where he learned Bass and studied deeper the Piano. Smith was noticed through his knack of playing pieces by Brahms, Minuet’s and small Waltzes just through his hearing as he had never learned to read sheet music, this carried on until the teachers became very surprised indeed. After leaving the school and playing Bump Piano in an orchestra of Philadelphia, in 1951 he united with Don Gardner’s Sonotones playing R’n’B Piano. In this situation Jimmy didn’t feel completely at home and it was after he heard at the Harlem Club the great Wild Bill Davies known as ‘the king of the Hammond’ in that period that he decided to start experimenting with this new instrument… Smith borrowed heavily from the style of Bill Doggett from whom he had understood that it was better to use the Organ pedals with your heal because using the front of the foot would tire you very quickly whilst the heal offered more duration and resistance. After closing himself for a long time in his basement Smith came out with a new sound, ready to experiment. A new Jazz story was about to begin. On his new B3 model Smith used the first three drawbars and the percussion, cutting the tremolo, starting to play horn lines with the right hand after being inspired by musicians such as Coleman Hawkins, Arnett Cobb and Don Byas, it was 1955. Smith constructed his Organ solos through inspirations of horn solos: the first and last four drawbars and tremolo on! Jimmy Smith created his first Organ Jazz Trio and completely changed the sound of the moment. In 1956 he began recording for Blue Note until almost 1963 with a total of almost 30 LP’s, he then moved over to Verve until 1972 when he moved onto Elektra, Decca, Mercury, Milestone, Somethin’ Else, Mojo, Metro, Polygram right up to 2004 when he came out with his very last album “Blues Dot Com” that he recorded for Verve Blue Thumb in Los Angeles with the help of musicians of the calibre of BB King, Taj Mahal, Etta James, Dr John, Harvey Mason and others. Getting back to his sound we could say that it wandered greatly amongst the Jazz ambient, fro orchestral trio right up to Funky Jazz in the mid seventies whilst still maintaining his unmistakable sound that even today inspires many organ players. To get a good idea of his sound there are not enough pages in this magazine, I will however try and break down to the minimum some serious indications without having you go out and get some of those usual compilations. From the Blue Note period I recommend “Groovin’ At Small’Paradise” from 1957, “Home Cookin’” from 1958 and “Crazy Baby” from 1960. Then on Verve, probably the label that made him most famous, I would recommend the classic “The Cat” from 1964, “Got My Mojo Working” from 1965, “Organ Grinder Swing” also from 1965 and “Root Down” from 1972 where you can hear that typical Starsky & Hutch type Funky Jazz Organ. A great album that you will rarely see amongst the official discography of Smith and one that I would very strongly recommend is “Unfinished Business” from 1978 on Mercury. I hope that I have pleased and ‘organ-ized’ you for a new search for good vinyl. Jimmy , rest in peace.

LATIN LATIN LATIN !

2007-04-09T10:16:00.000-07:00

This time, as cold as it is, we cannot do anything less that warm ourselves up with the heat of the JAZZMOTEL… and what could be a Sound that is capable of heating us all? The JAZZMOTEL Latin Explosion! In 1970 Fania Records decided to make a film about Caribbean music, it recorded at the Yankee Stadium live exhibitions from the Fania All Stars, Tipica 70, Gran Combo and Mongo Santamaria… Practically a nuclear bomb went off when the people, who were in many and also very excited, seeing such ‘congheros’ playing together of the calibre of Mongo Santamaria and Ray Baretto in the opening piece “Conga Bongo”, invaded the stage and forced the police to intervene and shut it down there and then! In the end the film was realised by mixing this explosive start with other pieces of film taken earlier in Puerto Rico regarding the Fania All Stars and other artists from the label: there was also released the ‘Salsa soundtrack’ of 1970! Jerry Masucci, the mythical Fania producer, produced it all and, as far as the legend goes, it appears that the term Salsa was born there and then by taking point that these bands mixed Caribbean and Afro-Cuban rhythms along with a New York style culture! Nowadays Latin music has invaded the world, there are Salsa schools everywhere and we can also see a great response from the public to this music, if however we had to do a Latin party by using our Soul Beat records which would be the right ones for the floor and, above all, would Jerry Masucci, Ray Barretto, Eddie Cano and company still be capable of driving the crowd wild? In my opinion yes! Well, let us try and enter into our archive to scribe out a list of Latin Explosives on vinyl! We shall start with Fania itself with that “Acid” by Ray Barretto that was already mentioned in the Soul Beat number entitled ‘Boogaloo Baby’, even if in this case we won’t examine the Boogaloo pieces but just those much more Salsa like “El Nuevo Barretto” and “Espiritu Libre”. Another album that should not be missing in a fiery party would be “El Exigente” by Orchestra Harlow in which there stands out pieces such as “Bee Free”, “Groovin’ The Afro Twist” and “That Groovy Shingaling” without forgetting “Our Latin Thing” by the Fania All Stars that is another monumental soundtrack to a documentary about Spanish Harlem from the 70’s which features “Ponte Duro”, “Estrellas De Fania” and “Descarga Fania”. We could say that all of the albums by the Fania All Stars, starting from “Delicate And Jumpy”, “Latin Soul Rock”, “Live At Cheetah” (Vol. 1 and Vol. 2) right up to the mythical “Salsa” from 1970 (the soundtrack to that cinematic event that I mentioned at the beginning) have all signalled the birth and fuelled the fame of Salsa music! Apart from the vinyl already mentioned I cannot miss out some by Joe Bataan (“Mr. New York & The East Side Kids”, “Riot”, “Subway Joe” and “Gipsy Woman”) that I would definitely include amongst the big floor songs, other authors also, singers and orchestras to point out are surely Justo Betancourt, Willie Colon, George Guzman, Latinaires, Monguito Santamaria, Mongo Santamaria, Johnny Pacheco, Ralfi Pagan and many more! The labels that, apart from Fania, have taken part in the Latin Explosion and that have published songs that are very handy for an explosive Latin party are Speed, Prestige, Palladium, Tico, Time, Capitol / Liberty, Contique and lots of others. In parallel to the Italian Salsa scene, we you mainly hear CD’s of contemporary Salsa music, there are a few DJ’s, especially in England and Japan, who create ‘authentic’ situations with original pieces of vinyl and typically New York 70’s Latin sounds: one of these is Snowboy, already noted for being one of the most requested percussionists in London as well as an excellent Latin DJ! For some time now we have also seen record companies, like Universal Sounds or Vampi Soul, who are, in a high quality way, re-pressing impossible to find vinyl as well as frighteningly good Compilations like “Newyorika” and others. It is now time to say farewell and to remind you that it is now your turn to go into the record shops, or markets, to search for those pieces of vinyl that will help you with your ‘Latin explosion party’, maybe taking some advice from the above mentioned articles by yours truly and JAZZMOTEL! Peace all over the land!

LATIN BOOGALOO

2007-04-09T09:49:00.000-07:00

JAZZMOTEL will be ‘boiling with Soul’ and I will take you into that hot but very fresh sound called Boogaloo than Latin Soul. In America this sound was famous between 1966 and 1969 and was the first contemporary Latin form that got the attention of a vast public that were a bit tired of the usual Cuban, Mambo and Cha Cha rhythms. Boogaloo, thanks to its Funky sound, was liked above all by the Afro-Americans, it was a highly successful fusion because it also ‘involved’ people that, in the past, never knew Latin music. It is said that the genre in question was born out of the interaction of the Afro-American dancers with the Latin musicians of New York who played in the clubs and night clubs of that period. People such as Joe Cuba say that this sound had a very explosive and stinging tone, to the point that pieces like “Bang Bang!” were created to shake up the dancers and, above all, stimulate them because they were no longer responding to the more classic Latin sounds, no, they were looking for something innovative. Many Latin musicians were also influenced by R’n’B and Jazz, and they therefore created a sound that, quoting various critics and musical historians, became a true milestone of Latin music, also because it came up during the high point of the Charanga popularity and just before the Salsa explosion! It was probably Joe Cuba who at the time gave the input (followed by all those who were playing Latin music in New York like Ricardo Ray, Ray Barretto, Pete Rodriguez, Joey Pastrana, Eddie Palmieri, etc.) and that, with this music, managed to create a meeting point between Puerto Ricans and blacks. Boogaloo didn’t have its own specific dance but like other genres of the 60’s it gave the opportunity for you to move freely and, seeing that all the ballroom floors were made of wood, pirouettes and jumps were the nights attraction. When reading your mail I have understood that you are interested in knowing also the names of the musicians (and relative titles) who started off the various sounds, I will get straight onto it by citing the classic “Bang Bang Push Push Push!” by the Joe Cuba Sextet (quite possibly the inventor of Boogaloo?). Instead, my favourite is “Hard Hands” by Ray Barretto (where you can hear the wonderful “Love Beads”), then there is “Acid”, another Barretto, that contains the classic “Soul Drummer” or “Mercy Mercy Baby” (distinguishable by the bassline riff that was sampled by Mighty Bop during the trip hop era). For those who really want to flip out I would recommend two masterpieces that are very close to R’n’B: I am talking about “Land Of Love” by Moon People and “Take A Trip Pussycat” by the Latin Blues Band (a pseudonym of the same Moon People), albums (recorded in 69 on the obscure Speed label) that are really fantastic and indispensable in any respectable collection! Another great interpreter of this genre (and also classic Latin soul) is Joe Bataan who, thanks to his “Subway Joe”, “St. Latin’s Day Massacre” and “Afrofilipino”, became known all over the world. Not to be missed also is “Let’s Get Down To The Nitty Gritty” by Riccardo Ray because it re-produces pop pieces like “Sookie Sookie” and “Mony Mony” (here in a Boogaloo version that is very rhythmic and danceable). Now I will mention some labels on which have been recorded some splendid Boogaloo albums: probably the biggest of them all (as far as New York Latin music is concerned) is Fania, I will also mention Tico, Allegre, Nike, Speed, Mardi Gras, Double Shot, Omega, Polydor and, also, King of James Brown… yes because also some of the Funk and R’n’B stars have been taken over by their rhythms that later came back revisited by or has influenced artists who in turn were contaminated! The James Brown piece most influenced by Boogaloo is “Shhhhhh For A Little While” where the author, something very rare, doesn’t shout out and sing but instead plays the Hammond… Well, if you come across it buy it because in my opinion it is one of the nicest pieces from Brown… maybe even the best! It is now time to say goodbye and invite you to write to me, especially if you have any questions or would like to have further info about the very vast groovy world of JAZZMOTEL.

INDO JAZZ SUITE

2007-04-09T09:36:00.000-07:00

The Indo-Jazz

After hearing Mathar by Dave Pike and other pieces on a compilation by Gilles Peterson, I understood that Indian music had been mixed together, in an excellent way, with pop but also with jazz. That’s when, like always, I began to get to the bottom of things seeing that both Indian music and jazz were favourites of mine. During this period I was in London visiting some friends and as I wandered about the shops I found myself in front of Honest Johns that is by the underpass in Portobello Road. I remembered that once my friend had told me that you could find some good jazz at H. J…. so I decided to go in. I was in the jazz section that was just inside the front door but in the basement (today the entrance is different) and I started to look through the hundreds of pieces of vinyl. After a while I decided to ask one of the assistants, looking after this section, if they had any jazz mixed together with Indian music. The guy thought for a few seconds and then he got out the gatefold LP’s of John Mayer and Joe Harriott called “Indo-Jazz Suite” and “Indo-Jazz Fusions”. The records had that typical smell / perfume of old vinyl and cardboard sleeves, I asked if I could have a listen and seeing that the price was very high the guy put them on the deck and began to play them. They were very different to what I had heard on the compilation, they were a double quintet of Jazz Musicians and Indian Musicians, the sound was fantastic and very early 60’s jazz flavours! There is no point mentioning that those two pieces of vinyl were the first in a long line of Indo-Jazz vinyl in my possession. I want to talk for a second about John Mayer even if Gabor Szabo, Dave Pike, Wolfgand Dauner, Alan Lorber Orchestra and many others have united Jazz and Indian Music together with some excellent results. John Mayer was born in Calcutta in 1930 and began getting a passion for music right from an early age of seven when he used to play the Violin, he then began to study basic Jazz drum rhythms and started getting into this genre. After winning a purse for studying he arrived in London in 1950 we he studied and composed mixtures of Indian music with Western music and then became part of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra up until 1965. One year earlier the EMI producer Dennis Preston asked him if he could create an Idiom in a jazz key to complete an album that he was working on and Mayer accepted. Soon Preston told Mayer that he had played the piece to Atlantic Records in New York and that they had liked it a lot, enough so that they recommended that he created a piece of work that forged together Jazz and Indian Music. For some time Mayer was thinking about making up a quintet formed of Sitar, Tambura, Harpsichord, Tablas and Flute, the idea of Atlantic was to unite this quintet with that of the saxophone player called Joe Harriott. After one month of writing the LP “Indo-Jazz Suite” was recorded in two days and was released in 1966 in both England and America, it was a success straight away and soon after it was followed by the release of “Indo-Jazz Fusions”. This is the story of how John Mayer created this sound called Indojazz that I will now describe to you in more detail. Indojazz is divided into two suites and the first contains “Contrast”, “Raga Megha” and “Raga Gaud-Saranga” that are based around Raga, a scale of Indian Music that is characterised by ascending and descending patterns that never have less than five notes. The second is composed of “Overture” that instead is much more Jazz based over a rhythm of beats extended to ten. In this direct recording by Mayer the Tablas make the rhythm and the Tambura, a kind of 4 chord Sitar offers the tone whilst the Sitar follows the Raga. After intros in pure Indian style Joe Harriott who was noted for his ‘Alto Sax Free Jazz Attitude’ had no problems following the pattern, just like the pianist Pat Smythe, the bass player Coleridge Goode, the drummer Allan Ganley and also the other musicians. There came an album that was highly structured where the pieces started with Sitar and Tambura sequences and then let enter one by one the other instruments that created that avantguard jazz sound where the East is no longer the East and the West is no longer the West! Peace all over the land.

James Brown says :

2006-12-26T02:04:00.000-08:00

"'Funky' is about the injustices, the things that go wrong, the hungry kids going to school trying to learn. 'Funky' is about what it takes to make people move - take it from the gospel, from the jazz."
James Brown 6-1933_ 12-2006

Interview to Marva Whitney

2006-12-17T06:18:00.000-08:00

Here we are ...Im very excite to have the pleasure and the privilege to make my Thang with Marva Whitney.

What was your taste in music at the beginning? And now ?

I grew up with the music in church. Later I really liked Dionne Warwick, Etta James and Tina Turner.

Is there anybody that inspired your style ?

My mother. She is playing in church with me still today.

How did you first approach making music after being a church singer?

I first toured with a gospel group called the Manning Singers. Later I went on the road Tommy and the Derbys, a classic R&B act.

How did you meet James Brown and how did the collaboration start?

James Brown was playing in Kansas City and my former manager Clarence Cooper got me an audition. Mr Brown's former musical director Alfred Pee Wee Ellis auditioned me and gave Mr Brown a tape. He then asked me to come into his dressing room and hired me on the spot. I went on the road with him right away.

You started with my favourite JB band of my favourite period, what do you
remember about that ?

It was a lot of work. 30 one-nighters in 30 days. They were a great band, that's for sure.

When did you start to do to your own thing?
After I left James I recorded a few tracks for T-Neck, later I married Ellis Taylor who recorded me for his Forte label.

Something I always like to ask. Could you describe the feeling, the vibe
and the sensations and the experience of living through that period at the
end of the 60?s

That's really hard to do, because when you are living it, you don't think about it. I was very young at that time and excited. Of course I loved the attention I was getting, but my party was while I was on stage. After that, I went to my room and that was it. But of course I went to Vietnam with Mr Brown, which was quite an experience.

When recording a track, how much space did you and the band have and how
much of that decision was taken by JB himself?

We had no space. He told me what to sing, but sometimes he would let me write my words. Sometimes I made them up while I was singing. I can't really speak for the band, because usually the tracks where already laid out when I came in.

Could you describe to me a typical working day in the recording studio?

There was never a typical recording day. We usually recorded on the road, on our off-days. Sometimes we'd cut at very unusual hours. "It's my thing" was recorded at 6 a.m.

What do you think about Funk, Soul, and the rebirth of these styles from
the 80?s till the present day.

I never really followed what was going on in the 80s. My son first told me that some groups had sampled my music, which made me upset at first. But there is a lot going on this days, my current band Osaka Monaurail is from Japan, and they sound exactly like the James Brown Orchestra from 1969. They take funk very seriously.

Your records are very expensive now...

.. and I don't get paid a dime.

Are you still in touch with JB and the other musicians ?

I see some of them when I work with my agency, Soulpower. Because they also work with Sweet Charles Sherrell, Bobby Byrd, Vicki Anderson, Martha High, Pee Wee Ellis. Martha is my close friend, so was Lyn Collins. I don't talk to Mr Brown, but his manager, Mr Bobbitt, usually calls me up when they are in Kansas City. But I never went to his show.

What are your future plans?

My new album is coming out in Japan this month, it will be released worldwide in February. I have been performing quite a bit this year, all over Europe and Japan. We are ready to go come back to Europe and Japan in 2007 and we will tour in Australia. And we will definetely record a new album next year. Marva Whitney is back!

Introducing Marva Whitney and Her essential Funk 45's

2006-12-17T06:06:00.000-08:00

Introduction to Marva Whitney – The Lady Of Funk

After a lot of Great men now it's time to speak to a Lady , the first Lady of Funk.
Friends and Guests of Jazzmotel I'm proud to introduce you Marva Whitney .
As always i dont know how introduce this kind of personalities , so many things to say ....so Great persons and Artists.
The James Brown experience , her own career , Alfred Pee Wee Ellis , Tommy and The Derbys (who rose to fame with Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band) , "Live At The Apollo Volume II".
His record " It's my thing" spent seven weeks in Billboard's US R&B Hot 100, peaking at #19 in the summer of 1969 (#82 Pop).Other records like" Things Got To Get Better" and "I Made A Mistake Because It's Only You", made their presence too on the US R&B Top 40.
My favourite are " Unwind Yourself " and " I’m Tired I’m Tired I’m Tired" .
Now she's back with a great band and a lot of news so have a read on this Interview DJ Pari kindly maked me do and have a look at her site on the links section.
love!

Marva Whitney essential Funk 45's

2006
I am what I am P.1 / I am what I am P.2
RDVB-025

1967
Your love was good for me / Saving my time for my baby
Federal, F12545

1967
If you love me / Your love was good for me
King, K6124

1968
Undwind yourself / If you love me
King, K6146

1968
Your love was good for me / What kind of man
King, K6158

1968
Things got to get better (get together) / What kind of man
King, K6168

1968
I'll work it out / All my love belongs to you
King, K6181

1968
I'm tired, I'm tired, I'm tired / If you love me
King, K6193

1968
What do I have to do to prove my love to you / Your love was good for me
King, K6202

1968
Tit for tat (Ain't no takin' back) / In the middle (Instr.)
King, K6206

1969
You gotta have a job (with James Brown) / I'm tired, I'm tired, I'm tired
King, K6218

1969
It's my thing / Ball of Fire
King, K6229

1969
Things got to get better (Get together) / Get out of my life
King, K6249

1969
I made a mistake because it's only you P.1 / P.2
King, K6268

1970
He's the one / This girl's in love with you
King, K6283

Groovin' with the Beatles

2006-12-17T04:53:00.000-08:00

I proposes a look at the more groovy pieces of The Beatles re-interpreted by musicians that, in the 60’s and 70’s, were part of that sound that we all now define as Groovy Beatles! Why The Beatles? Simply for two reasons: above all they are and always will be my favourite band as well as being the ones who opened my mind musically when I was young, in fact I can state that my Karma as a DJ made itself known at the age of six when I used to listen to “Let It Be” (that came out only six years before!). The second reason is that last November 17th of last year “Let It Be” was re-published in its original version, that which the authors themselves would like to have seen pressed. Phil Spector, the producer at the time, remixed unknowingly by them the whole album in an effort to make it less raw and more sweeter, he added angelic choruses and orchestras and created many upsets amongst The Beatles who were close on breaking up, that now, at a distance of 33 years, see again (sadly only Mc Cartney and Starr) published their piece of work just how it was planned at the time! Before closing this Beatles section I want to be precise, once and for all, that “Let It Be” was not their last album that they realised in the studio but was in fact the one but last, even if the last, “Abbey Road”, was published in ’69 and “Let It Be” in ’70. Now, as always, I will list a quick but significant quantity of titles and authors, starting with George Benson, a very famous jazz guitarist, who published an album entitled “The Other Side Of Abbey Road” in which, of them all, stands out the very ‘Soul Beat’ version of “I Want You”. Ramsey Lewis also, another very famous artist, re-proposed with the electric piano that characterised his sound the famous White album in a groovy version, calling it “Mother Nature Son” like one of the pieces of Paul. Ramsey was also a big fan of The Beatles, in fact right from the beginning of the 60’s he proposed many cover versions of the group in lots of his albums. In a precedent appointment that was dedicated to the Sitar I mentioned how The Beatles were the first to introduce this instrument into pop, therefore, what better way, in the swinging sixties, to make a cover of their songs than using a Sitar? Here then is Big Jim Sullivan at work on “She’s Leaving Home” (originally taken from “Sgt. Peppers”) or Lord Sitar who put two pieces on his self titles album, “Blue Jay Way” and “I’m The Walrus”, both taken from “The Magical Mystery Tour”. Moving on to the Hammond organ we rediscover two extraordinary and highly danceable versions of “Get Back” respectively done by Shirley Scott (very jazzy) and the guitarist Dennis Coffey (touching on psychedelic funk rock contained on the album “Hair And Things”). Another great organist, Jimmy Caravan, in his “Look Into The Flower” proposes a great version of “A Day In The Life” in trio where the cacophony orchestra of the original piece, that divided the two ‘separate’ pieces of Paul and John, is substituted by a cacophony organ that gives you goose pimples with the Lesley (for those that don’t know this is a trumpet shaped amplifier that the Hammond possesses, capable of creating an effect like sucking). Rob Franken also, a less noted German organist, proposed his versions of “The Fool On The Hill” and “Ob La De Ob La Da” worthy of noting (they are contained on a very rare record that, however, is well worth looking for). Also Sergio Mendes was another big fan of the ‘fab four’ and, just as you can hear on many of his albums, loved re-interpreting their songs. Staying in South America I will tell you about a wicked version of “Come Together” that has been looked after by the very famous and much sought after Brazilian drummer Wilson Das Neves of whom his 70’s album entitled “Samba Tropi” is at the moment valued at around 250 dollars! El Chicano, a group that was born ‘bad’ like Santana but remained that way, offered us their Latin funk version of “Eleanor Rigby” where the sweetness of the original piece leaves space to a very aggressive Latin beat that is worthy of the most dusty powdered Mexicans! Astrud Gilberto also (an artist that is better known by us) re-proposed “In My Life” (in 1968) and “Here There And Everywhere” (in 1969) including them on her rarest (just for a change) album “Windy” and “17th September 1969”: there is no point mentioning that her Brazilian sweet voice makes these songs even more pleasurable.

Some other titles with Beatles reinterpretations are :

Booker T anbd the MG's Soul Limbo Stax
Ella Fitzgerald Watch whats happens MPS
Shirley Scott and the Soul Saxes Atlantic
Andrew Tartaglia Tartaglian Theorem Capitol
Ramsey Lewis Mother Nature Son Cadet
Steve Marcus Tomorrow never knows Vortex
George Benson The Other Side Of Abbey Road CTI
The Knut Kiesewetter Train Stop!Whatch!and Listen ! MPS
Mongo Santamaria Working On A Groovy Thing Columbia
Shirley Bassey Something UA
Big Jim Sullivan Sitar Beat Mercury
The Harvey Averne Dozen Fania
And loads more .....

Interview to Brian Auger

2006-12-10T05:14:00.000-08:00

Im proud and excite to introduce to you another of my chats with a great Organist and Pianist that need no presentation ...Brian Auger , his Organ style groove us from the 60's till now !
Trinity , Oblivion Express , The Steampacket and all the London scene !
I hope you enjoy this interview i did .

Whats you favourite Bands and your musical tastes in the beginning and now ?

My Favourite bands early on were Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Blood Sweat & Tears, Steely Dan, Yes, Led Zeppelin, Mothers of Invention, Herbie Hancock Quintet, Aretha Franklin, Donnie Hathaway, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and many many
more.
Today Tears for Fears, Brand New Heavies, Incognito, Jamiroquai, John Mayer, Coldplay, Foo Fighters, Down To The Bone. etc etc.

Can you tell me about when you decide to move from Jazz and Piano to join Organ and R'n'B ?

I switched to the R&B/ Rock scene in 1964 and bought my first Hammond Organ in Early 1965. I have not left the Jazz Scene and I incorporate much Jazz in my music, and play on many Jazz Festivals. I also never left the piano and still play piano pieces every night on tour.

Flamingo Club in London was one of the many Clubs in where you played , how was the Club vibe in the 60's , which were the Sound of that period .

The three most influential clubs in Central London in the 60s were The Ronnie Scott Club ( strictly Jazz, and still going), The Flamingo, (home of the R&B organ based bands) and the Marquee Club ( home to Jazz, Blues and the new pop bands like The Who, Spencer Davis Group, The Steampacket, The Move etc etc. As one of the only musicians that played in all three clubs, always liked the Flamingo for its mixed audience of English kids, West Indian fans and American soldiers and airmen who came into London on the weekends. This was a dancing audience and had the best atmosphere.

I saw an Auger Driscol Compilation called " The Mod Years " , whats your relation with Mods ?

My connection with Mods began in the Steampacket. We wore tailored suits and Carnaby Street clothes and the public called us Mods for our "modern Style of Stage Wear'. Indeed the unknown Rod Stewart who really started his career in the Steampacket became known as Rod the Mod.

What you remeber about the Steampacket period and Long John Baltry , Stewart and Jules ?

Steampacket was a great group. The first Supergroup. Unfortunately there were three managers, one for Baldry, one for Rod and one for myself and Julie. This caused a lot of problems and we never got to record properly because we were all on different labels. The only tracks available were pirated.

Then the Trinity with Auger and Driscoll in '66 , "Open" in '67 and so on , did you get the feeling to be starting a group like that ?

At the end of the Steampacket, I already knew that I wanted to start a band that would be a bridge between the separate scenes of Jazz and Rock. I wanted a rhythm section that could play funky R&B + jazz and I wanted to put Organ Solos on that base using my Jazz Harmony chords and with a positive vocal message. This was the Trinity, the first band of its genre to headline the Montreux Jazz Festival , The Berlin Jazz Festival, The Rome Jazz Festival , and all in 1968 with our first album OPEN and our single SAVE ME.

How did you define the Trinity Sound and how the Oblivion Express sound ?

The sound of the Trinity and the sound of Oblivion Express were pointed out in the recording studio. I simply tried to make sure that everything that was played by each musician was clearly heard, and a little reverb was added. I am not a Phil Spectre who is trying to create a particular sound to every one of his recordings.

When and how you decide to form the Oblivion Express ?

After the Trinity broke up in 1970, I really wanted to push the musical envelope and develop the Jazz Fusion music that I had started.
As this meant that I would be going against the wishes of the record company who wanted more and more commercial music, I thought I was going the quickest way to Oblivion,( Oblio) so I called the band The Oblivion Express, (Il Rapido a Oblio). We are still going, but now with my Daughter Savannah on Vocals, and my son Karma on drums. This is the happiest Express so far.

I know you played a lot in Italy and also that you speak Italian , tell me something about your Italian side .

I first came to Italy as a student when I was 16 years old and instantly loved Italy and the Italian people. In 1967 I came back as a musician to play in a club in Milano and met my wife, who is from Cagliari Sardegna. This was the best thing that ever happened to me.I already had studied French and Latin at college, and Italian came easily for me. My connection with the Italian fans grows stronger every year, and I sent my three children to study in Italy so my whole family speaks fluent Italian.

Can you tell me something special , a funny thing or a story about your B3 ?

My Hammond B3 in the USA, originally was built in London England, but when I moved to the US, I had to install an American tone generator in it. So it is the only Anglo American Hammond that I know about.

Whats your future plans ?

My future plans are to play live with my band until I leave the Planet.

the Soul of JB part one .

2006-12-04T13:23:00.000-08:00

This is a very hot topic hotter than ever , im writing a small but very hard breakdown of vinyl from the ‘Godfather of soul’ Mr. James Brown. Everybody knows that his career started about 40 years ago with a very soulful piece but it hasn’t finished yet because our Godfather is still playing all over the world, he is also recording an album that will be the soundtrack to the new ‘Rocky’ film! The part of his discography that I would like to recommend is that which goes up to the end of the 60’s and beginning of the 70’s, the same years that have become a habit for ‘The Soul Beat’. That which follows doesn’t wish to be a detailed list of his records but just a taste of his capacity in inventing a sound that still goes today… frightening! We shall start the journey with “Grits And Soul” where James might not even be recognised because he doesn’t sing but instead plays the Hammond organ: we are talking about a collection of pieces that range from soul to honky tonk right up to orchestral R’n’B with “Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Wolf” (a classic that was even done by Jimmy Smith) that I would strongly recommend to all those who love soul from the mid 60’s. Following there is “It’s A New Day” (that begins to be more R’nB even if Soul is still in charge) in which groovy pieces such as “Let A Man Come And Do The Popcorn”, “Give It Up Or Turn It Loose” and “It’s A New Day” alternate with big dance numbers like “It’s A Mans Mans World” or “Georgia On My Mind”. The album “Say Loud I’m Black And I’m Proud” starts to show us that Brown has some clear ideas about politics, about Soul and about what he wants… this is because he is beginning to become a kind of God and many are beginning to take note! In this case also songs like the title track or “Licking Stick” alternate with other cooler ones like “I Love You” or “Maybe I’ll Understand”. To keep under observation, also, are a few instrumental singles that represent rare material because James likes so much to sing. Not many know that he, apart from dancing, is an orchestra leader as well as arranger, he also plays the organ, therefore there comes out 7”’s such as “Shhhhhh For A Little While” (remember that I mentioned this in the Boogaloo edition of ‘The Soul Beat’) or “The Soul Of JB” b/w “Funky Soul” on the KING label as well as the very rare and much sought after instrumental “The Drunk” on BETHLEM that, with the difference to the others, is not contained on any album. To follow there was “The Popcorn” that, apart from being the name of a dance that he invented, is also the title of the album where ‘our man’ leads and dances with the JB Band! In it, even picking with your eyes closed, we can find brilliant songs such as “The Popcorn”, “Soul Pride”, “In The Middle pt. 1 & 2”, “The Chicken” or “The Chase” (just to name a few). In these pieces you can hear that things are slowing down and that the groove is getting ever deeper: next is the birth of true funk! On the album “It’s A Mother” James invented definitely the ‘Funky with feeling’ sound with pieces such as “Mother Popcorn”, “Mashed Potatoes Popcorn” and “You’re Still Out Of Side” (there is no use mentioning “Pop Corn With A Felling” and the others!). In 1970 James Brown changed his band and published another instrumental album entitled “Ain’t It Funky” in which there is (in my opinion) the first true Funky pieces such as “Ain’t It Funky”, “Nose Job” (the title says it all!!), “Use Your Mother” and “Cold Sweat”: in my opinion this album will remain a milestone in the JB story, even if it is one of the lesser known ones. Before finishing off the first part of this edition of ‘The Soul Beat’ I want to mention another album, also instrumental, one of which I redefined my opinion on JB… It is entitled “Sho Is Funky Down Here” and represents a monumental parenthesis that James opened and closed during his long career. The mentioned album is nothing but a Funky Trip of Hammond, Clavinet, Fuzz Guitar and Wah Wah Grooves whilst the sound that it unleashes is a kind of cross between the soundtrack to a porn or police film. I highly recommend that you hunt it out and take a careful listen: you will be nicely surprised! It is now time to say goodbye so see you in the nest edition with ‘The Soul Of JB part 2”… naturally in ‘The Soul Beat’! Peace all around and make it funky!

the Soul of JB part two .

2006-12-04T13:22:00.000-08:00

I continue the ‘hot thing’ that I left half way through the edition for the conclusion of this ‘The Soul Of JB part. 2’. We left off with some of the hotter singles so now we will continue with the albums and a live that all, yes all the lovers of James Brown have owned on vinyl or even on tape, bought by themselves or recorded by friends, I am talking about (naturally) “Sex Machine” from 1970. When I hear this double piece of vinyl I still get goose pimples… yes, exactly like when I heard the whole thing, for the first time, exactly 13 years ago! Leaving aside the usual, celebrated “Sex Machine” (of course) or “Give It Up Or Turn It Loose”, I would like to bring to your attention some pieces that, in my opinion, have passed into the background even though maintaining the same notoriety as the titles that I have just mentioned seeing as they contain many grooves. “Lowdown Popcorn” and “Spinning Wheels” for me show the true soul of JB and his band in such that they are relaxing (but knowingly) and full of Soul! “Mother Popcorn”, in my opinion, represents Funk in its purest form and puts into evidence the coordination of the virtuous musicians that never tripped up, leaving spaces in all the right places, something different than what happened with Fusion at the end of the 70’s and beginning of the 80’s where the musicians, very technical, created a too perfect and ‘full’ sound, only leaving space to the soloists at the moment of their solo’s. After this mention of Fusion I will pass over to “Get On The Good Foot” from 1972 where inside the cover (double) you can see his evolutions on stage under the dazed and attentive eyes of the band. Of this album I would recommend the title track, also pieces like “Cold Sweat” (different from the 45), “Funky Side Of Town” and “Dirty Harri”! With this album JB began to realise a series of works that left many spaces to the solo artists, also the same songs began to last 6 minutes or even more! “The Payback” is without doubt a must as far as breaks are concerned, those parts that have been sampled by practically all the Hip Hop and R’n?b bands, and songs such as “The Payback”, “Take Some And Leave Some” or the infinite and super ‘bad groove’ of “Mind Power” with a series of Black ideology of the power of the mind and other things, leave you once again understanding who was the true Godfather Of Soul in that period! Also “Hell” in 1974 pointed out an important political and social passage of Brown concerning the black brothers and, maybe, even the white ones! ‘It’s Hell Down Here And We Got To Make A Change’ or ‘It’s Hell When You Don’t Have A Job And You Have To Eat’ are, in fact, some of the phrases written inside the cover. The 8 minutes of “I Can’t Stand It” reassume in a big way the groove of the entire album and “Papa Don’t Take No Mess” redefines it clearly! Relaxing with pieces such as “Lost Someone” or “These Foolish Things Remind Me Of You” is obligatory! Well, I have to be sincere… in this album you will find much of that which could be called ‘Soul Beat’. Before closing I would like to mention some productions by Brown that are needed to make grow the notoriety of the ‘James Brown family’ through a larger public. A record that shouldn’t be missed for any reason (just think, the original costs more than 100 Pounds Sterling!) is “It’s My Thing” by Marva Whitney, the ex chorus singer of James that, thanks to her voice and the JB band, makes the album not have one song that I would recommend to you… because they are all fantastic! Apart from the ones by the JB’s (one of his band – maybe the last from the real Funk period – that succeeded the Kings Men or the Famous Flames), I would recommend all the works by Maceo Parker from 1970 to 1974 as well as those of Fred Wesley and Bobby Byrd from the same period. My favourite pieces, with which I opened the dance a few years ago, are “Blow Your Head” by Fred Wesley And The JB’s and “I Know You Got Soul” by Bobby Byrd, respectively sampled, towards the end of the 80’s, by Marrs for the hit “Pump Up The Volume” and Eric B and Rakim in “I Know You Got Soul”!

Interview to Marcos Valle

2006-12-04T13:14:00.000-08:00

Like a dream come true i went in contact with one of my great Idols , my favourite Brasilian composer , Mr Marcos Valle.
I discover a great man , humble and cool , a man with an open mind , an artist always ready to experiment and create new sounds always with his great and unmistakable sound and touch ...heres a chat with Marcos Valle

I read you studyed classical music , wich one is your favourite classical
composer , theres someone who inspired your musical taste and style?

M: Ravel and Debussy were the pricipal ones.

Listening to some of your records like " Garra " or " Marcos Valle " from
1970 i heard that in songs like " Des Leis " i can feel some kind of 60's
European or American infuence , wich bands were an ispiration for you?

M: Steely Dan,Chicago, Earth,Wind And Fire, Beatles, Harold Melvin And The
Blue Notes, War, Blood,Sweat And Tears, were some of them.

My Marcos Valle favourite tunes are " Ele e Ela "," Viagem " and "Pigmaiao
" also because i love that kind of waltz tempo , can you tell me something
more about " Ele e Ela " and waltz tempo in Bossanova?

M: Jobim,Menescal and I have written some waltz tempo songs.. I think it
blends well with the the softness and sensuality of the Bossanova mood.
I have written at least 6 of them,and "Ele e Ela" is also one of my
favorites,because of the chords changes and the smooth melody.

Most of your songs are about love how love influenced your musical life .

M: I can´t understand the world without love,so my songs talk about it.Not
only love between 2 persons,but also love for your people,for all the
races,for the ones who need care.

What you think about mixing Bossanova with other styles like Funk or
Psychedelic sounds in the 70's or electronics today..

M:I love these experiments and mixings.They inspire and excite me.

How important were the traveling in North America for being in time with the
music , like you are already now.

M:Well,besides having my songs recorded there,my personal contacts were very
interesting.
I had good times touring with Sergio Mendes in the Sixties.
The success of my song "Summer Samba "in 67 took me to some of the most
important musical American TV shows;I had the chance to record then 2
albuns:one for Warner,named "Braziliance-The Music Of Marcos Valle" and one
for Verve:"Samba 68".I had a chance to meet important artists as Henry
Mancini,Quincy Jones,Johnny Mandel,Ron Carter and others.And from 75 until
80,when I stayed 5 years there,I met Sarah Vaughan,with whom I
recorded,besides having my songs recorded by her;the group Chicago also did
it;I had a chance to write many songs with Leon Ware,partner of Marvin Gaye
(Leon recorded many of our songs);I collaborate with Airto Moreira writing
the arrangements for his album "Touching You,Touching Me",and also had songs
recorded by my friend Deodato.

You wrote the Azymuth song that inspired Azymuth band , can you tell me
something about that soundtrack , i mean "O fabuloso Fittipaldi".

M: I had written the song "Azymuth",with my partner Novelli,in the 60s,for
the opening of a TV film,about racing driving.And recorded in the accoustic
piano myself. Then,years later 2 important movie makers,Roberto Farias and
Babenko decided to Make a film about the 2 times World Formula One Champion
Brazilian Racing Driver Fittipaldi,and they asked me to write the score; and
as they loved the song "Azimuth",they asked me if I could write a new
arrangement of that song for the opening of the film,which I agreed.To
record the soundtrack with me,the producer of the album decided to call 3
talented musicians: Jose Bertrami(Keyboards),Alex Malheiros(bass) and
Mamao(drums),and I playing the accoustic piano.
Bertrami and I wrote the arrangements together.We wrote a new arrangement
for "the song "Azymuth",but basically,my piano solo was the same,and I wrote
new songs for the rest of the film.
I could not put my name in the record as a performer,once I had a contract
with EMI,and this was being recorded in Phillips(Universal today).So,we had
to find a name for the performers.The producer thought about "Conjunto
Azymuth" ("Azymuth Band"),because of the opening song.I agreed.
After the record,those 3 musicians decided to stay together,and asked me if
they could use the name "Azymuth" for the band.I agreed,and I became the
"Godfather" of the group.And I really think they are probably the best
Brazilian instrumental band .

You collaborate with a lot of Brasilian musicians , wich collaboration were
the most important for you .

M: Joao Donato , Milton Nascimento , Edu Lobo , Menescal , Lulu Santos ,
Carlos Lyra , BossaCucaNova , Cidade Negra , are just some of them.

Its very difficult to find Marcos Valle original vinyls , the vinyls you
find are very expensive . what you think about this ?

M: I wished they were less expensive , so people who enjoy my music were
able to buy them.

Can you describe me the felling of Rio de Janeiro in the 60's .

M: It was very stimulating.I had my first song,entitled "Sonho de Maria",
recorded in 1963,by Tamba Trio.And a little bit after that,Os Cariocas
recorded 2 songs of mine,"Amor De Nada" and "Vamos Amar".And in 64,I signed
a contract to record to EMI for 5 years.
What was fantastic is that all the composers,musicians and singers use to
get together almost every week,in someone,s house,and I always wanted to get
there with a new song to show Jobim,Carlos Lyra,Menescal,and all the
others.So,I had to look for quality.I did not think in what would be
comercial,never.We just wished to write good songs.And that was the same for
film producers,plays,books,all kinds of art.The sixties were very creative.
Even when we had the military government,we were very productive.We had
problems with the censors,but did not give up.The lyrics started to change
to social and protest subjects.The meetings now were not only musical,but
also political,to discuss what we could do against the government.They
included all kind of art people.

When i listen to your 60's and 70's records i feel a kind of energy and
positive thinking about that period , it's Brasil changed today ?

M: As I say,I was very stimulated to do things and write a lot.
Today we have democracy,thanks God.Elections are free,we choose who we
want.But we still have the social problems.The population is much bigger,the
poverty also.We must fight that to find peace in our country.
We do not have anymore those weekly meetings,but I love to get together with
other composers of other generations,other music styles,and write songs with
them.That moves me.

What are you doing now , i know you are playing a lot in this period , can
you tell me something about your future projects?

M:I just came back from a great European tour,with my band,including 17
shows in different countries.
I Have recorded a new CD,all instrumental,with new and old
songs,produced,arranged and performed by me,playing the Rhodes,Accoustic
Piano,Guitar,Mellodica and keyboards,with my band,and have achieved the Tim
Award (the most important music award in Brasil) as the best instrumental CD
of the year.The CD was released in Europe,Japan and USA by Universal.
I will be perfoming 5 shows in Australia next January,in Sydney and
Melbourne Festivals,and in May I will start a new European tour.
And in Brasil,I will be perfoming a lot, also with my band .
And I will be recording a new record in 2007,I still do not know were.Let´s
see.

Marcos Valle

approach to Marcos Valle

2006-12-04T13:10:00.000-08:00

The first time i heard directly Marcos Valle voice was in 1995 after Mr Bongos compilations “ The essential Marcos Valle “ vol 1 and 2 .
Before i just listened at Astrud Gilberto , Walter Wanderley , Sergio Mendes and loads more versions and interpretations, cause Valle were the 60’s and 70’s and still is the main Bossa Nova men into the 80’s and todays evolution of it.
I remember my favourite song were “Ele e Ela “from the Odeon album “Marcos Valle “ 1970 ,then “ Viagem “ and “ Tiao abraco forte “ from “ Viola Enluarada “ 1968.
After a lot of researching and spending also in Sao Paulo Brasil i get most of the 60’s and 70’s Valle works , all beautiful and all very interesting as ideas and concepts.
“Era uma noite fra de domingo .Mais 2 oras e Marcos chegaria dos Estados Unidos “ quote from the back cover of “ Viola Enluarada “ .
Marcos was always travelin’for more than 20 years from South to North America to get inspirations and to work too , to get ideas and feelings to compose pieces like “ Proton Electron Neutron “ or “Siute imaginaria “ .
A life spent to create the Bossanova sound and the today brasilian sound as well.
Born in Rio de Janeiro in 1943, Marcos Valle studied classical music as a child but listened to many different types of music, especially jazz music .
He started to write songs with his brother Paulo Sergio , he was the tune writer and his brother the lyrics writer .
After the hit of Tamba Trio with his song “Sonho de Maria “ Marcos was named as Brazil’s Leading Composer of the year at the age of 19 .
Then a Record contract and the first album in 1964 “ Samba Demais “ for EMI Brazil , a tour with Sergio Mendes and Brasil ‘65 and then it arrives his first connection to America.
Then “ Braziliance!” and his debute on Verve with “ Samba 68 “ and songs like "Batucada," "Chup, Chup, I Got Away " and "Crickets Sing for Anamaria"
all sung with his wife Anamaria .
In the end of 60’s with the big success of Rock Music and Tropicalismo with bands like Os Mutantes , Gilberto Gil or Caetano Veloso he get influenced too and record the fantastic album “ Garra “ in wich for the first time he introduce groovy heavy basses into a kind of smooth funk , all together with his great style.
Then he went in America again to produce tracks for Eumir Deodato and Airto Moreira till the London explosion in the late eightyes with Acid Jazz movement and the rebirth of tracks like "Crickets Sing for Anamaria".
Then Mr Bongos complilations , the big success in the 90’s in Europe and Japan till the new experience with Joe Davis and Far out Records till today ...

Marcos Valle Discography

JORGE VERCILO - AO VIVO 2006

JET-SAMBA 2005

CONTRASTS 2003

BOSSA ENTRE AMIGOS 2001

ESCAPE 2001

NOVA BOSSA NOVA 1998

TEMPO DA GENTE 1986

MARCOS VALLE 1983

VONTADE DE REVER VOCÊ 1981

MARCOS VALLE 1974

PREVISÃO DO TEMPO 1973

VENTO SUL 1972

GARRA 1971

MARCOS VALLE 1970

MUSTANG COR DE SANGUE 1969

SAMBA''68 1968

VIOLA ENLUARADA 1967

BRAZILIANCE! A MÚSICA DE MARCOS VALLE 1967

O COMPOSITOR E O CANTOR MARCOS VALE 1965

SAMBA DEMAIS 1963

Our Latin Thing featuring Fania all Stars film review

2006-11-26T11:10:00.000-08:00

A few kids playing on a rooftop in Spanish Harem and one of them, to the sound of the Wah Wah Rhodes of “Cucinando” by Ray Barretto, leaves the group and begins to run. Through side streets, avenues, right up to a wall where you can read names written in a 70’s style Street Graffiti, names like Ray Barretto, Larry Harlow, Willie Colon, Ismael Miranda, Jerry Masucci and Ricardo Ray as well as the title “Our Latin Thing”. As many of you have already understood this month I want to talk to you about a documentary by Leon Gast of which the theme was the Hispanic music phenomenon in the ghettos of Harlem at the beginning of the 70’s. Thanks to Vampisoul, a Spanish label, it is back onto the market (in a DVD version) called “Our Latin Thing, Nuestra Cosa” and offers all of us lovers the possibility of seeing and tasting the ‘authentic’ story of Latin music, something with contaminations from Africa, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Jazz… well, ‘hybrid music’. Vampisoul is, and always has been, one of the more attentive labels in its selection as well as specialising in the distribution of lost tracks from musical styles such as Latin, soul, funk, r’n’b and groove from the 60’s and 70’s because it sources out and represses excellent taste pieces of vinyl of the highest quality. To note also that this label has brought back onto the market, after 20 years, one of the symbols of Latin Soul, ‘The Ordinary Guy, Mr. New York’ Joe Bataan with his newest incredible album entitled “Call My Name”. Getting back to New York though… The principal protagonists of this documentary-film are the Fania All-Stars come along with those people who at this period in time were and integral part and daily ‘animation’ for Spanish Harlem in New York. Jerry Masucci, boss of Fania (a leading label for Latin Music) and Larry Harlow (‘El Judio Meravilloso, The Wonderful Jew’, one of the musicians, better still, the musician that brought Salsa to the whole world) wanted this film to realise a project that had been going ahead for some time: to spread the Latin culture throughout the world. As I said before, to realise this film, filmed in New York in 1972, they called on Leon Gast who was probably the only person capable of collecting together the whole essence of everyday life and transforming it with a touch of cinematic sense. The film starts off with a rehearsal inside a ballroom where the Fania All-Stars are trying out there songs on a few spectators, amongst which two very cool dancers. Between some improvised interviews with Ray Barretto and a cut to some kids who were banging tin cans as though they were conga drums, you could already make out the documentary taste of Gast. The street scenes are also very present: a slightly beat young man with another slightly drunk walk alone in the streets improvising a ‘few moves’ with a passing young lady; the percussionist Ray Barretto as a make believe ice cream man breaking up ice to make ice pops for the kids; the people are gathering in the streets to hear the Harlow Orchestra with the singer Ismael Miranda playing their latest song Proto Salsa directed by Larry Harlow and his electric piano. To note that the Harlow Orchestra played on the steps of one of those classic households in Harlem between rubbish bins and people who were shouting out. After filming a clandestine cock fight in a kind of basement as well as a kind of African or Voodoo rite beneath an underpass, Gast goes back to the ballroom where the Fania are ready for the announced concert with its very eager Hispanic-American audience. “Estrelle De Fania” and all of their pieces of the moment are played including trumpet solos, conga drums solos, Latin choruses and couples dancing or others on their own making moves that would make any modern day Salsa maestro jealous. Trumpets and trombones together, as the rules of the Harlow Orchestra or Johnny Pacheco state, looking after the orchestration of the band (an orchestration that was taken as an example by all Salsa groups in the future). All this as Larry Harlow made me understand initially cost 5000 dollars, almost a years work leaving very little pay for the artists, it was however very important in other ways: it sent Salsa as well as all of the Fania artists into stratosphere making the Hispanic community famous and respected throughout the world.
Thanks to Vampisoul for gave me the Video .

Interview to Larry Harlow

2006-11-23T11:57:00.000-08:00

Larry Harlow is a master legend of Latin music we now call Salsa. He began studying music at the age of 5, following his father's footsteps. He studied at the most prestigious music schools. During mid 50’s, he was so fascinated by Latin rhythms that he travelled and lived in Cuba to study the real Afro-Cuban sound that became known as "Salsa". As an expert "Salsa" artist, he returned to New York to develop his own style and orchestra and later to help create the internationally famous "Fania All Stars" group. While a member and producer of the Fania All Stars for fifteen years, Larry Harlow was not only a recording star with 30 solo albums and 15 with the All Stars, but also a producer of over 160 recordings for other artists.

You grew up in Spanish Harlem. Is this the reason you got involved in Latin Music?
I grew up in Brooklyn, went to high school in Harlem and was first exposed to Musica Latina there.

How important was the decision to go to Cuba in the late 50’s to learn all the principles of Afro Cuban Music right up to the Popular Dances, and how did it influence the formation of your own Latin Style and Salsa too.
Went to Cuba on a Christmas vacation in 1956 for the first time with Mambonicks Kids who were into Latin dancing and music.

Then you formed your first band?
Started Orquestra Harlow in 1964 after several trips to Cuba and years of playing as a sideman with various
bands in NYC area.

What were your first musical influences?
Joe Loce, Noro Morales, Early TP Piccadilly boys and later the big band, Machito and all the Jazz greats.

How did it come about that a not-Latino, became the most important man in Latin Music?
I got very good at what I do. Created new, fresh ideas and developed young artists for recordings. I also studied audio engineering and became a prolific producer of Latin recordings.

Everybody knows you for your six golden records and your four Billboard awards: Pianist of the Year, Latin Producer of the Year, Concert of the Year and Arranger of the year. You are also well known for being the first Latin Music artist to use psychedelic lights at your concerts, adding a completely different element to the scene. I really like this thing. Can you tell me something about that?
When it was in to be psychedelic, I made a light tower that was portable and taught a young guy how to operate them. Wrote a song about them and it kept us working for about 2 years. I also was into the whole ear as well as clothing and drugs.

What are your memories of your experience of the Fania period?
Everything!

You play a lot of instruments like Oboe, Bass, Flute, Vibraphone and of course the Piano, was this important to the Latin Sound change that you introduced, trombones playing together with trumpets, a sound that everybody copied later on?
NO, I just wanted to have a different sound. No one had utilized the trumpet/trombone sound before in a salsa format. Today it is standard.

You were one of the creators of the Fania All Stars and together with this band you released 15 LP’s. How did the creation of the band come about?
Well I did not put the band together, Pacheco did that along with Masucci. The idea of an all-star band and a movie to promote them was mine. The formula was simple: Bandleader / singer / sideman from each of the main Fania orchestras.

Can you tell me something that no one knows about the “Our Latin Thing” film project? Some out-takes or some little known moments.
There are hundreds, we worked for one year, Leon and myself, razor blade cutting by hand, the first Fania film, no one made any money but we had a lot of fun and all became stars because of this film.

What does it feel like to play in front of 80,000 people who know "Lucumi" music, what is the archetype of Mambo / Salsa music?
Unfortunatly the public in Zaire were not into the "Lucumi music scene". The tourists were there for the fight and we were there to entertain them. The experience was awesome and seeing Africa for the first time was wonderful especially performing and mixing with all those great musicians and entertainers for 10 days.

Tell me your impressions of the 3 day concert in Africa, about James Brown, the Jazz Crusaders and Mohammed Alì, what were your feelings?
It was the experience of a lifetime. Not only the music but to hang with all those great stars and get to know them. Even with Ali and Foreman, who knew that Bundidi Brown was a great stride piano player, we spent hours together and to visit the Presidential Palace and museums were wonderful.

What do you think about the younger generation now looking for your 60’s and 70’s albums and 45’s to play them, not in Salsa and Soul clubs, but in R’n’B clubs?
I think it is great that another generation is using the genre for something.

What do you think about the fusion between Funk and Latin music in the 70’s? Did you ever experiment with Latin Funk?
Had a band called Ambergris in 69-70 signed to Paramount records that combined Latin and Funk. Was a passing fad.

What do you think about today’s electronic music using samples of 60’s and 70’s Latin music to create a new evolution of Latin Sounds?
I hope they don’t forget to send a royalty check… Not my cup of tea.

Do you have any plans for the immediate future? Albums, tours, films, works?
I will do Hommy opera again in Puerto Rico with different singers and some new music. Playing some Latin Jazz lately, producing some new artists and experimenting with video conferencing music programs to universities around the globe.

Interview to Harvey Averne

2006-11-19T02:48:00.000-08:00

I wanted to have a chat with one of the most refined arranger , composer and musician of the Latin music scene from the 50's till today in New York and the rest of the world .
Harvey Averne create the mix of Latin music together with Soul , Funk and Rock now called Latin Crossover .
His track are researched , collected , compiled and spinned by the most Groovy DJ's from the today 60's scene .
He never liked to be on front so theres no so many information about him , thats why i wanted to know more .
I discovered a great artis and a great man and friend!

You are known as the musician that combined Soul and Rock with Latin music, maintaining, in the process, subtle and refined arrangements. How did you obtain such results?

Growing up and living in New York city, which is also known as the great melting pot, I was exposed to latin music at 8 years of age,along with pop and soul, rock came later. Mixing all the elements I love together while keeping the feeling natural & logical was the chalange. Marty Sheller used to play trumpet in my salsa band ( Arvito band) which played pure salsa only, I never wrote an original song or recorded with the Arvito band. We would copy arrangements from records IE: Tito Puente, who was my biggest influence, Cuban recordings etc. Larry Harlow, Eddie Palmieri, Louie Ramierez and many great and talented musicians all played in the Arvito orch. So I guess I had a good eye for talent from the very beginning. The Arvito Band Played dances and clubs including the world famous "Paladium" with all the great latin bands of the day( 1953 thru 1965 . I played vibes & was the band leader. Arvito ( spanish sounding for little Harvey, originally " Harvito" but the" H" was dropped because "Arvito" sounded more spanish. In the late 60s when I started recording for Fania I wanted to combine the all elements to appeal to all audiences and the Harvey Averne Dozen was born. the majority of the arrangements and ideas were in the very capable hands of Marty Sheller, I gave him some ideas, but he understood whatever concept I was cooking up at the time and needed very little guidence, he made it very easy for me. He was my go to guy for all the different" Harvey Averne bands".

You music is often described as Latin Crossover. What do you think?

Yes thats what i was trying to do.

Many of the tracks on your first albums are Pop and Soul covers from that period. What were your musical tastes?

All of the above, salsa, soul, rock, but especially the Beatles, & Sly and the Family Stone,
That is why I always did instrumental versions of thier songs on all my albums but in a very different, highly stylized way, ala the "Harvey Averne Dozen" style which was very original and like no other recording of their great material.

I know that you play the vibraphone and the piano as well as having a fantastic voice. How much has the fact that you
are a musician influenced your career even though you are a producer?

I was never very comfortable performing on stage which is why in 1972 I stopped making the " Harvey Averne" recordings altogether. I was the leader of the " chakachas " in 1972 ( Jungle Fever) which sold over 2 million, we played the Apollo theatre 4 times in 1972 and I was offered to be the head of United Artists Latino lable, I sold my instruments and retired from the stage. I guess I loved Composing, Producing, Mixing ( my love ) promoting, discovering and developing new talent, much more than performing. So to answer your question ( I bet you thought I forgot ) It taught me how to communicate and get the best out of everyone who comes into the studio to work with me.I demand more from talent than they have ever experienced,or gone inside themselves to give before, while I give tremendous freedom and want them to take chances. Remember I fired myself from performing and recording, so YOU better come to workout for me or you know what will happen ( It's not so easy to explain to yourself, when you look in the mirror in the morning, why you got fired by your own self. I love my recordings, but I think the least important element in their success was my playing\performing which did not make me so happy, but in a way limited me. As a producer I work with every facet of the recording, I find this much more important and satisfying.

Marty Sheller, already having arranged for Mongo, worked on a few of your albums. How did the arrangements come about? Was it a two way collaboration or did you occupy yourself with the writing and he with the arrangement?

As I said above the arrangements were the genius of Marty Sheller. We would talk about what was the idea for a song, and Marty would go and make it a much better idea.

You have produced a few of the most sought after albums of Latin Soul - Latin Funk and Boogaloo such as "Camel Walk" by Latinares"or "Cortijo and his Time Machine", right up to
exceptional works by Eddie Palmieri such as "Un Dia Bonito" or "Puerto Rico" and many more. Tell me about your work as a producer.
My best work (for me) has been as a Producer ( which is exactly the same function as a Movie Director, which title was used long before the record business started calling us Producers). A Producer in the movies handles the financing which in the recording industry is the domain of the record company who has the Artist I was hired to Produce under a long term contract usually. My work includes the following, album concept, casting and hiring everyone on the project, directing all performances, which is pretty easy work, because I only work with the very, very, best and get them to suprise themselves and me, because they give me more than their talent, they give me their heart and soul, which you cannot buy for money ever. And after I and everyone is totally happy with their performance. I go into the studio, always alone, to mix, fix, polish,and make love to this beautiful work of art and after hundreds of hours of creating this little masterpiece, I apoligize to the goddess of music for fogiveness, because I have done the best I am capable of doing, and then and only then is the product offered to the public.
I'm very curious about the term "NewYorican Sound". What
does it mean? Do you feel a part of it? " Nuyourican" is a term used to discribe a Puertorican born in New York, not on Puerto Rican soil. To me the New York Salsa is totally different from the mas tipica salsa from the islands of Puerto Rico or Cuba. I have worked with some of the best from Cuba IE: Jose Fajardo, Celia Cruz, Orquesta Broadway, La Lupe, etc. From Puerto Rico IE: Cortijo, Ismael Rivera, Lalo Rodriguez, Danny Rivera and many more. And from New York : Eddie Palmieri, Ray Barretto, Larry Harlow, Hector Lavoe, Willy Colon, Ismael Miranda, Machito, Tito Puente, and many, many more. The sound from Cuba and the sound from Puerto Rico is very different from the New York salsa sound, which is a harder, stronger, swing, if you listen closely, you can hear the taxis & the car horns blasting, and the busy pace, and the tall buidings & the cement streets etc. as in Eddie Palmieri's music. Or life in glorious Havana, back in the day, when you hear Celia Cruz con La Sonora Matancera, or Jose Fajardo, or Orquesta Aaragon, or from Puerto Rico: El Gran Combo, Cortijo con Ismael Rivera, Lalo Rodriguez, Danny Rivera, Frankie Ruiz and many, many,many more. You can hear the palm trees swaying, and you feel the island breeze, and as soon as you get off the plane,you notice that the music is in the air. You ask me if I feel a part of it??? My friend Alessio, all Latin music has and is my life, my heart, my soul, mi sangre, without it my life would not have had any meaning at all.

You have recorded for labels, well-known and not so well-known, such as Atlantic, Fania or Heavy Duty. Each album is quite different but always maintaining the typical Harvery Averne Sound.
Which label has given you most space for experimentation?

I have been very lucky and from the first Atlantic recording which was originally recorded for Fania, I have always had complete creative control and freedom, and for that I thank Jerry Masucci from fania, Jerry Wexler and Arif Mardin from Atlantic, Mike stewart and Mike Lipton from United Artists, Morris Levy from Roullete and Tico, etc. But my best work was for my own company "COCO RECORDS " because it was my money on the line I could follow the production with a specialized promotion to the media, radio, clubs, public etc . the participation from the signing of the Artist to the release of the album and everything in between was amazing & the results were awesome.

Personally, I discovered you after the release of "Heavy Duty" on Acid Jazz records in 1994, after which I began to look out
for you. What do you think of the rediscovery of bands and sounds by new labels and the consequent rebirth of the sound of the 60's and 70's?
Acid Jazz has never given me a royalty or any money since the mid 90s, I like the exposure, but one of these days I will sue their ass off!!! I still own heavy Duty Records and the "harvey Averne Barrio Band" album and the "Toro" album and they are still available for license in some countries, including Italy, England, France, Japan, and others.

Your vinyl records are sold at auction and are quite rare. What was the distribution in the 70's like? Was there much call for that type of music?

Not as good as now. France, French speaking Africa, Spain, were the most important in Europe. on a lesser level Italy, England, Holland etc. Of course South America, Carribean, and USA were the strongest.

What are you doing now? Productions? arrangements? What are your plans for the future?

I am the President\Ceo of a new Reggaeton company, with two partners, Alex Masucci and a wonderful young talented producer of hip hop & reggaeton Willy LA Fama. We are finishing a tribute reggaeton record inspired by my dear friend Ray Barretto's monster hit of the 60s "El Watusi".

Just recently Ray Barretto passed away. You knew him, whatmemory do you have of him?
I Produced his 1st. album for Fania Records "Acid" a monster classic. he was a great artist, congero, composer, person,. He did more for JAZZ groups using conga than anyone who ever lived and his SALSA recordings are his legacy. He will be missed and never replaced or forgotten, one of the most important artists in salsa history.

the sun IS ra!

2006-11-18T15:52:00.000-08:00

if you want to Open up yOur mind have a listen to Sun RA!
CAUSE SPACE IS THE PLACE !

it's not impossible !

2006-11-18T15:27:00.000-08:00

an explosion of joyness !
a Martini or a Campari ! yeah!
it’s sounds happy , it’s sounds groovy , it’s sounS Venezuelan....
After a long period of thinking it happened !
the sound is fresh ,
the sound is cool
the sound...... sounds good
Im good too
HARPSICHORD IS PLAYING
MY ENGLISH IS NOT WORKING
MY HART Is WORKING
IM IN HEAVEN
IM COOL
IM HUMBLE
IM LISTENING TO IT
ALDEMARO ROMERO LA ONDA NUEVA!
IT’S JUST FANTASTIC

interview to Joe Bataan

2006-11-06T12:35:00.001-08:00

Joe Bataan begins his musical journey in the 50's, he forms his first band in 1965 and in 1967 he begins to record for Jerry Masucci's Fania Records label, the most important Latin Music label. Later he co-forms the Mericana/Salsoul which brings us up to his last record in 1979 "Rap-o Clap-o" which forestall the Rap movement. Raised in Spanish Harlem he frequents Porto Rican gangs and he refines his Soul with Afro-Cuban, R'n'B, and Afro-Rican influences.In the 60's, during the Boogaloo explosion, he creates Latin Soul which later became Latin Funk and later, in the late 70's , Latin Disco .The characteristics of his Street Latin Soul remains that of always wanting to tell the stories of the streets. "Ordinary Guy", "Gypsy Woman", "What Good is a Castle", "Under the Street Lamp" and "La Botella" ( latin version of the great Gil Scott Heron's "The Bottle"), are some of his hits!And now, after 20 years, Bataan returns with "Call My Name", an album, once again recorded in New York for the Vampisoul label, in which we seem to have been transported back to the 60's.

What do you remember about the Porto Rican gangs experience in the New York's Spanish Harlem?

The Gangs of New York were The Victory's, the Cahaplains, Red Wings and the Dragons of which I was a member and much later the leader in Spanish Harlem. Each gang dressed differently and lived in separate areas of New York. There was a code of honour where no one told another gang member his business and gang members had control of their neighbourhoods.

How did you start thinking about the way to put together Latin and Soul Music?

After listening to Show Musicals, Rock and Roll and RnB I got the idea to fuse Latin with English lyrics as an experiment. I listened to Joe Cuba, Hector Rivera and Pete Rodriguez and was inspired to do the same. Only difference was that my style had stories of life in the streets and much of my life was involved in my songs. This is why I became a street singer.

What were your favourite bands you used to listen to?

My favourite bands were Eddie Palmieri, Joe Cuba, Tito Rodriquez and Tower of Power.

Jerry Masucci was very important for you, tell us about the Fania period.

Jerry Masucci was very young and was not afraid to take a chance with my ideas. Eventually I outgrew his label and I’m still trying to collect money this company owes me.

How was the relationship with other Fania musicians like Barretto, Larry Harlow?

I got along with these musicians but you must remember my style of playing and my music took me in different directions internationally and spread my name worldwide. I was an artist that brought a unique style of music to the world that is very different than the rest of these musicians of Fania Records.

Tell us about the Mericana and SalSoul period.

Mericana and Salsoul Records were my creation, I sold the interests of Salsoul very foolishly after I created the name Sal for Salsa and Sol for Soul. I was very successful with these labels and was the first artist to build this dream of a company. This company also did not live up to their agreement and I am in position to collect much money they owe me with the help of God. However this was an exciting period for me because of Rapo Clapo and the international success I got.

What do you think about this Salsoul music rebirth?

The Soulsoul rebirth is good for everyone including me, finally I will get a chance to be heard around the world and the public has a chance to hear my full collection of music of over forty years.

Tell us about the way you came back to all your fans with the new album "Call my name"

God has a plan for Joe Bataan and it is to spread his name and my music, will reflex my sound and the chance I am getting to do some good with my music. Of course this is an exciting thing that’s happening to me. Not many people get a second chance in their lives, I already had over twenty. Now it is time for me to pay up for my blessings.

What do you think about today’s electronic music which makes use of samples of Latin / Brazilian music?

All music is good and we should always find avenues to experiment. This is what makes music an exciting art form. I love Brazilian music.

What are your future plans, will there be a tour, new projects, are you coming to Italy?

I believe they are arranging a tour in Italy and Europe. I have another album to be completed in the summer called "The Message" and I’m looking for a record deal with Vampisoul or anyone that may be interested in Joe Bataan.

Joe Bataan mr New York soul

2006-11-06T12:21:00.000-08:00

On the occasion of the release of the new exceptional album by Joe Bataan on the Vampisoul label I wrote this thing about this great artist and then i had a chat with him. Nobody has such street credibility as Joe, born in Spanish Harlem it was he who created Latin Soul and even anticipated disco and rap. Peter Nitollano (his real name) was born in 1942 to Afro / Philippine parents and was brought up in Spanish Harlem where during the 50’s he joined some Porto Rican gangs. In fact it was in prison that he first became passionate about music that gave him the strength, spirit and courage to start a new life. Characteristics of Joe are his lyrics that are all too often autobiographical, a kind of melancholy through his way of singing with that slightly out of tune way that has made him one of the most appreciated and admired Latin Soul singers. Latin Soul is in fact the genre that he created by forging together Afro American R’n’B sounds with Afro Cuban and Afro Rican rhythms. During the sixties, after a few misunderstandings with some impresarios who didn’t understand his style and just wanted him as a kind of ‘Latin James Brown’, he was finally heard and understood by Jerry Masucci who was the boss of Fania Records which was the most important recording label for Latin music. Thus the career of Mr. New York Soul Joe Bataan started. “Gypsy Woman”, his first album, was a true success as well as something completely new as Joe played Latin music but sung in English with a Pop R’n’B feel that was anticipated and simplified thanks also to a Break characteristic ‘double hand clap’, The Latin Soul Sound was beginning to come about thanks to the above mentioned fusion. During his career Bataan made many records with Fania including “St. Latin’s Day Massacre”, “Riot”, “Subway Joe” and “Singing Some Soul” where he reinterpreted some Philly Sound pieces of artists such as the Intruders, O’Jays and others. Through the years Bataan managed to create a genre that could be defined as a crossover where he Latinized Soul, Funk, Disco and vice versa! After the Fania period, around 1974, Bataan started the Mericana / Salsoul label along with Epic, a term that confirms this fusion between Salsa and Soul specialising in ‘crossover’ productions. The first album on this new label was “Salsoul” where Joe wrote some incredible pieces such as “After Shower Funk” or the Acid Latin “Fin” right up to “Super Strut” by Eumir Deodato renamed “Latin Strut”. On this album there are all the ‘Soul Beat’ ingredients and the fusion between Salsa and Funk is enriched by some Soulful Orchestration. In 1975 Bataan made a great commercial move and published “Afrofilipino” where his anticipation to disco music was more than clear. The great commercial success was due to an instrumental cover version of “The Bottle”, the Gil Scott Heron hit. There were also many other high points on this record like “Woman Don’t Want To Love Me”, the latest version of his classic “Ordinary Guy”, “When You’re Down (Funky Mambo)” finishing off with “Laughing And Crying” that, in my opinion, was the main influence for Jamiroquai for his song “Emergency On Planet Earth”! In 1979 Bataan gained success with his “Rap O Clap O” which was a piece that made history in the story of Latin music and one that practically invented rap. Out now, in 2005, is “Call My Name” the new album from Joe Bataan where the eclectic and groovy Vampisoul have wanted to bring to the public after almost 20 years the soul of Mr. New York. The extraordinary thing about this album is the fact that it is not a re-pressing (something that Vampisoul specialise in) but instead a brand new album that was recorded last year in New York. This piece of work that is produced by Daniel Collas encloses the whole soul of Bataan and confirms once again his unmistakable style. Peace friendship and solidarity.

MPS Musik produktion Swarzwald

2006-11-02T09:46:00.000-08:00

At the end of the 60’s Düsseldorf wasn’t the first German city to start proposing different music to the European and Worldwide public thanks to such groups as Kratwerk and Neu, it wasn’t the last one either. Right in the middle of the Black Forest there is a little town called Villigen that would become a kind of Mecca for a new type of Jazz, the so called Krautjazz. In this town, during those days, there was born the label MPS Musik Produktion Shwarzwald. MPS was a kind of open house to experimentation, for that regarding the type of jazz as well as its instrumentation, things like the Indian Sitar, new recording techniques or instrumentation such as the Moog that had never been used for jazz, at least not in that period. MPS touched on Latin tastes, oriental sounds, vocal jazz, scat jazz, space spirituals and jazzy experimentations that anticipated the so called Jazz Fusion of the 70’s. Inside 15 years MPS published 700 titles, many of them of the highest quality. The boss of this label was the pianist Hans George Brunner Schwer who started off in 1968 with a session called ‘Midnight Session’, a kind of private session with the mythical Oscar Peterson, I have to point out though that there exist recordings before this date such as “SABA Stereo Sound”. Many jazz artists, not only European, wanted to make albums on MPS: from Oscar Peterson (as mentioned before) with “Exclusively For My Friends” (from Vol. 1 to Vol. 6 – 1963/1968) to Pony Poindexter, then Mark Murphy, Archie Shepp, Bill Evans, Maynard Ferguson, Novi Quartet, the Polish Novi Singers, Wolfgang Dauner, Dave Pike, Art Farmer, Johnny Teupen, Red Garland, George Duke, Karin Krog or Charlie Antolini and his Soul Beat. At the beginning of the 90’s the maestro Gilles Peterson put together a series of compilations containing many pieces from this label (“Talkin’ Jazz”) creating the same effect on the market as the Blow Up DJ’s in London with the label Music Library (see my last column). Thanks to him, and the DJ’s of Mojo as well as my willingness to learn, I started hunting down original MPS pieces of vinyl, even if the coming about of compilations has heightened the prices even more on the market. When you got an original copy in your hands you began to realise also that whoever it was who wrote the credits on the Talkin Loud compilations made a few mistakes in their citations… sadly enough this also happens with me. Seeing as I am a lover of the Sitar I started looking for the works by the Dave Pike Set like “Four Reasons” or “Infra Red”, that’s without mentioning “Noisy Silence Gentle Noise” which contains “Mathar”, then there was “The Oimels” by Wolfgang Dauner but I don’t wish to mention just the better known titles… Many productions contained standards as well as a few gems that could be used in a ‘Soul Beat’ ambience but in general you weren’t talking about classic jazz because it always had that something extra. Just a short while ago I realised that Charlie Antolini had called one of his albums ‘Soul Beat’, thus I understood that my taste is that which was and is the Soul Beat for roughly 35 years. Now, as usual, I will make a list of some titles I have selected for you: The Singers Unlimited “Ctyri Z Nàs” (Polish versions of course), Johnny Teupen “Plays Harp”, Baden Powel “Images On Guitar”, Dave Pike Set “Four Reasons”, Ira Kriss “Jazzanova”, Bora Rokovic “Ultra Native”, Wolfgang Dauner “Etcetera Live”, “The Oimels” and “Jankows Keyboard”… naturally there are also loads of others. The fact remains that a lot of the time you think of American jazz as conventional jazz but just like all of the things in the Soul Beat colours and nations are relative… The Soul Beat continues its journey towards the truth of the groove. Til next time and… peace all over the forests!

interview to Airto Moreira

2006-11-02T09:33:00.000-08:00

This time I would like to propose a chat with one of the Jazz legends I always love because of his way to be a kind of a magical percussion player , a guru .And when i met him , my sensation was to talk to a Witchdoctor... I had the chance of hearing Airto play as a guest star for an Italian group and I thought about talking to him to find out a bit more about a side of him that is little known to the public. Airto Moreira is known above all for his collaborations with Miles Davis, Weather Report and many other Jazz musicians such as Chick Corea or John McLaughlin or Keith Jarrett or even Quincy Jones, Paul Simon, Chicago, Herbie Hancock etc.. In this brief discussion I wanted to focus on the Brazilian period before he went off to New York and met all of the above mentioned names that made him become somewhat of a legend. We also spoke of New York, it was inevitable!

I am very interested in your starting out period when you played in groups such as Sambalanco Trio in 1965 with Cesar Camargo Mariano on piano and Humberto Clayber on bass or with the Sambrasa Trio also in 1965 with Hermeto Pascoal where you played the drums and this trio was very different from the others because its sound was very innovative and very articulate, simple but creative at the same time.

It’s true, here also there was much space and we were very young and ambition was sky high, we had much space up until Cesar at a certain point decided to leave the Sambalanco Trio for a singer called Marisa. We asked him to stay but he was convinced and in love, he wanted to start producing records for Marisa and so he left. Speaking with Hermeto it came out that he really liked our sound and so we decided to ask him to join us. Hermeto joined up on the condition that we changed the name from the Sambalanco Trio to the Sambrasa Trio, we agreed and with his Flute playing the sound became even richer and new, that’s when Flora Purim began singing with us.

The record entitled “Quarteto Novo” in 1967 changed the face of Brazilian music. The sound was very pure, classic but innovative at the same time. That quartet didn’t last very long, what do you remember about that period?

It was a very happy period and musically deep, the group was riding high and everybody couldn’t wait to get into the studio and play, experiment and create. The lovely thing was that, once again, there was enough room for everybody’s creativeness.

Then, after that period, Flora Purim went to New York and you followed her some time after. How did two Brazilians feel in New York?

It was fantastic, it was like being in a film and we were a part of that film. I was 23 and had difficulties because I didn’t speak English. Then we began to meet musicians like JJ Johnson, Cedar Walton and the bass player Walter Booket, then thanks to Walter we began playing with Adderley, Lee Morgan and Paul Desmon as well as Zawinul who put me onto Davis.

There started something that everybody calls ‘Jazz Fusion’ and albums like “Free” and “Fingers” were the start of this sound. The mixture between the sound of Jazz musicians like Hubert Laws or Ron Carter from CTI along with your typical touch created this kind of new sound, how would you define it?

I would simply define it as ‘Brazilian Jazz’.

You have collaborated with many musicians as a percussionist but also as a producer, I would like to ask you something about one of your productions that is very dear to me: “Amazon” by Cal Tjader from 1976?

In the beginning it was very hard work, this record united typical Californian Latin jazz with Brazilian influences. We worked on the project for more than three weeks and the result was amazing, I remember well Cal, when I see the cover it still moves me a lot, it was a great time.

What future projects do you have, are you recording anything?

Flora and myself are continuously recording, we then propose the material to labels for its publication. At the moment I am starting a 3 week tour of Japan and USA with Chick Corea and Eddie Gomez.

Ray Barretto sadly passed away not too long ago, he was also a great percussionist, did you know him?

Yes I knew him, Ray was a brilliant percussionist as well as a great person, the last time I saw him was two years ago in Barbados where we were both there for playing, we crossed each others paths quickly and then I never saw him again.

As you have probably understood Airto, just like all of the others who I have had the pleasure of interviewing, is a very simple person. His way of being made you feel that you were talking to some kind of saint or Macumbero, an experience that once again enriched my Soul Beat spirit, I hope it did the same for you. Peace all over the land.

interview to Dr Lonnie Smith

2006-10-31T01:51:00.000-08:00

I got the idea to ring and chat with DR Lonnie Smith after visiting his website and finding out about his participation at Umbria Jazz 2006. Many of his records like “Afro-Desia”, “Move Your Hand” or “Finger Lickin’ Good Soul Organ” make up much of my DJ set playlist and so for me it was a great honour to be able to have a friendly chat with a legend of Hammond Jazz and a favourite organist of mine.Lonnie Smith has been on the front line of the jazz scene since 1967. He’s collaborated with Lou Donaldson, David Newman, Blue Mitchell, Joe Lavano , George Benson, Jack McDuff , Dizzy Gillespie, Grover Washington Jr, Ron Carter, Jimmy McGriff, Leon Thomas amongst others. He’s recorded and appeared on over 70 records.He’s also well known for his work with the R’n’B and Soul greats like Gladys Knight, Dionne Warwick, Etta James, The Impressions and the Coasters.DR Lonnie Smith has recently been awarded “Best Jazz Organist” 2003/2004/2005 by the Jazz Journalist Association.Today, Smith continues to play throughout Europe, America and The Far East. Keep an eye on your paper because he regularly appears and plays in small Jazz Bar venues.
As always i find an incredible humble person....

How did you start playing Jazz music?
Mine was a family of singers. In the beginning I sang in Pop groups. When, in a church, I heard the organ for the first time I was gripped by the sound of this instrument and I feel in love with it. I was also very taken by Jazz music and when I heard guys like Wild Bill Davies and Jimmy Smith, I said to myself that that was the music I had to make from that moment on.My problem was that I didn’t know how to play Jazz music, so I used the experience I had to start playing this type of music, starting from what I knew, and that was Pop music.

And so you took to the Hammond...
When I was a kid I’d always go to Art Kubera’s musical instruments shop in Buffalo, every day, like it was my job, I’d go there in the morning and leave in the evening, just to see and look at the Hammond organs.One day I found the shop closed and just as I was leaving the owner calls me round the back and tells me: ”You see that organ? Take it, it’s yours” I couldn’t believe it, it was a brand new organ that was worth a lot of money.From then on I started playing it by ear because I couldn’t read music, and by making use of my experience with Motown, Soul and Pop and what I heard from Smith and Davies. I started playing in all the Jazz Music Jam Sessions and started to get myself noticed. That man was angel for me and he completely changed my life. Even today when I see him, we talk about this thing that happened many years ago.

You’ve worked many times with George Benson amongst others. How did you two meet?
I met Benson through other people, during a Jack Mc Duff concert. George was playing with him. Jack called me onstage and Benson was taken by the way I played.At the end of the concert we got to know each other and he asked me for my phone number.After a while, I got to know that he was looking for me because he had left McDuff but had lost my number, so through Jimmy Boyd, a manager that hung out at “Smiles Paradise” club and who had also arranged for me to play with Grant Green, he was able to contact me.And that’s how I started playing with George Benson.

Tell me a story about that period...
After we’d become friends we found ourselves in his mother’s house in Pittsburgh and we went into the cellar. That day we ended up rehearsing two songs “Secret Love” and “Clockwise” and our band was born.After a while that we’d been playing here and there, some managers from Columbia heard us and signed us both up. For Columbia I recorded “Finger-Lickin’ Good Soul Organ”.

I know that you were much sought after as an organist at that time.
At that time you’d play a lot with everybody, David Newman, Blue Mitchell, Lee Morgan, King Kurtis, Lou Donaldson and Grant Green amongst others I played on many Donaldson albums up until Blue Note asked me to record my own: “Move Your Hand”, “Turning Point”, “Think!”, and “Drives”. In a few of the tracks on those albums you can hear a lot of the origins of Pop Soul like “Sunshine Superman” and “Spinning Wheels”. I then recorded with Grove Merchant up until 1976 and so on.

Which musician have you had most feeling with and created most?
During my career I have played with many musicians and continue to do so till this day. Without a doubt Donaldson is the one with which I had an extraordinary rapport, almost like a marriage. Lou and I are still very close and our friendship is incredible .

As you are still very actively playing, what do you think of this new explosion of 60’s Soul Jazz, / Boogaloo?
I’m stupefied to see that today many people and many youngsters listen to music that we wrote in the 60’s.At that time I would never have thought that our music would have such a long life. Just think, Lou and I are still playing “Alligator Boogaloo” (1967).

What are your future projects? Are you coming to Italy?
My dream would be to create a sort of resting place for Jazz musicians; many don’t have insurance or pensions. I’m playing all over, a lot; I’ll be in Italy for Umbria Jazz in July.

Hammond Organ thang

2006-10-31T01:28:00.000-08:00

Just as you may have understood from the title this month we will talk about the hero of all grooves, the one and only Hammond organ. Born out of the fervid mind of Laurens Hammond, who amongst other things was a watch maker, this organ was planned by applying fine mechanics to a sound generator of sinusoid waves… the rest is history!! The first Hammond, the mythical B3 with a generator with tones wheels, was born in 1935 and was produced up until 1973! Nowadays, as it is natural that it should, the Hammond also has become digital, but any respectful organist always looks for the vintage type from which there comes a sound that is rougher and warmer, the original models like the ‘B3’, ‘C3’, ‘A100’, ‘L100’, etc. with an internal amplifier or even with the mythical external ‘Lesley’, famous for the horn that turns really fast (run by the pedal) which spreads the sound 360° with that effect that we all know! Us lovers of the Soul Beat know that in Jazz, Soul, Funk, Bossa, etc.. the Hammond finds a lot of space, but also in Rock, Progressive and Electronic there has been much use. The heroes of the Hammond as far as the Soul Beat goes are many but, in my modest opinion, one amongst them all results in being the greatest: we are talking about Jimmy Smith. With him we have discovered what playing the Hammond with the ‘right attitude’ really means, whether we are talking about Blues, or Jazz or R’n’B. He has made some unforgettable pieces of vinyl such as “Respect”, “I Got My Mojo Working”, “Unfinished Business”, “Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Wolf?”, “The Cat” and they have all been objects of inspiration for contemporary organists like The James Taylor Quartet, Mother Earth, Corduroy, Big Boss Men and many others. The English Hammond player Brian Auger even surprised Smith with his way of playing, enough to get him an historical exclamation from Jimmy himself on one of his albums: ‘Brian, man you’re crazy!’. Auger, with his unmistakable style, united R'n'B with Jazz and 60’s Pop Rock and with the Trinity and Julie Driscol characterised an era! His are pieces such as “Tiger”, “Black Cat”, “Indian Rope Man”, etc.., also, together with the Oblivion Express, he planted the first roots of the so called ‘Fusion’. Another great hero of the Hammond is jack McDuff who, thanks to many label changes (Cadet, Blue Note, Atlantic… just to name the bigger ones) had the opportunity of experimenting with different types of ‘McOrgan Grooves’ depending on that which the Jazz market was asking for. As I wrote above the most important labels where you will find the greatest organists are Blue Note, Verve, Groove Merchant, Atlantic, Cadet, King, Polydor and many others. Many organists have also collaborated with just as many Jazz musicians thus giving a more groovy imprint on their projects (practically 80% of the Blue Note productions between ’67 and ’70). Now I will give you some names and guide you towards, as always, the acquisition or selection of important indelible tracks from the musical history of ‘The Organized Soul Beat’, starting with the fact that the right period is always that, 1967 to 1973: Jimmie Smith, Lonnie Smith, Johnny Hammond Smith, Reuben Wilson, Jack McDuff, Brian Auger, Lalo Schifrin, Alan Hawkshaw, Jimmy McGriff, JTQ, James Brown and the Famous Flames, Marcos Valle, Ed Lincoln, Charles Earland, Henry Cane, Rob Franken Organization, Ennio Morricone (in some of his more groovy soundtracks) and many others. Always remember that, if you have any questions for me, all you have to do is send me a mail… I, time permitting, will try to answer you and also do my best to advise you. Now all that is left is for me to wish you a good Summer and to remind you to stay tuned in to The Soul Beat! Peace all over the land!

Interview to Azymuth

2006-10-30T11:42:00.000-08:00

After long time i realize another of my dream , seen Azymuth play'n live.
As always i went there and i ask them " eu preciso de falar com vocè " they sayd " tudo bom !" and we had a chat ....
They were very kind to me more than the club owner ...
Heres what we talked that night ....

How have Azymuth changed from the times of "Samba Doido", "Crazy Samba", nightclub Caneçao, Youngsters, Milton Nascimento, Jorge Ben, Deodato, the music from the soundtrack "O Fabuloso Fittipaldi " in 1973 until now?

Now we have more maturity, we can make it different, our heart is open to the young generations and the new music... At the end the difference is the age and the head addiction! It's like a wine…

Your sound is always contemporary and authentic, what are your inspirations... We know that Bertrami worked with Flora Purim and Robertinho Silva: was this an inspiration for Azymuth?

In the beginning when we were young we were listening to a lot of Jazz Big Bands like Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington etc... Orchestras, a lot of Samba too: we put all this together, it was fantastic.

How important was the label Milestone for your success in America and Europe?
Milestone opened the Doors for the world, for the success, it was very important for Azymuth. We did many LPs with Milestones.

Which work of yours do you consider as your best one: Melo da Cuica, Light as a Feather, Azymuth, Partido novo or Telecomunication?
For me (Ivan Conti) our best work is Telecomunication, its a moment, you know, this album is a memorial time in the studio, very clear, we had the open heads, we talked, a lot of communication. We played everything perfect! This is our favourite one!

How important is the label Far Out for your modern sound?
Far Out brought the Band on the road again. This label is important because it gives us another kind of sound. Some years ago we were stopped for a few and we said "let’s get something new started" and Far Out brought the old Azymuth forward again.

What do you think about remixes producers like Jazzanova, Global Communications, Mark Pritchard, Kenny Dope and 4Hero?
Now I like it very much, in the beginning when I heard these remixes I was very excited but it was strange, we were not so ready to hear this kind of changes, we didn’t understand that at that time. Now we understandthat it’s is a new kind of idea and a new sound and we like it.

You have never stopped making music since 1972, always being up to date yet preserving your typical sound. What’s your secret?
The secret is the respect, the patience for each other, some time we fight, of course, but we always get the other way to create another sound... What’s important is the union and the respect for eachother’s opinions and ideas.

What do you think about the new Brazilian music explosion, DJ’s and producers like Marky, Patife, etc.?
There’s a lot of good music now and a lot of bad too!

One of my favourite tune is Manha from 1975, tell us something about that song.
Manha is good times! Everything fresh in our head, we were young, now we have to run like Forest Gump! Manha is a special time song, I like it too!

Azymuth

2006-10-30T11:32:00.000-08:00

I will focus on just one group who, different to many others, have 2 not indifferent qualities: the first is that of always evolving during the 30 years of activity, maybe even creating, sounds that have become contemporary and, every time, innovative; the second, that appears to contradict the first, is that of always maintaining, whatever happened, their very own original sound. This group, formed in Rio during the 70’s, is called Azymuth. Reunited after many collaborations with various Brazilian musicians during the sixties, they were initially called ‘Grupo Selecao’, even if they also made a few recordings with the same line up under the name ‘Som Ambiente’. The definitive name came about officially in 1973 during the recording of the soundtrack ‘O Fabuloso Fittipaldi’ by the brothers Marcos and Paolo Sergio Valle, created for a documentary about the famous Formula 1 driver where, from the piece entitled “Azymuth” contained on this soundtrack, they took the name of which they are still identified even today. Ivan Conti ‘Mamão’ (drums and voice), Alex Malheiros (Baixo and voice) and Josè Roberto Bertrami (Teclados and voice) create a very typical sound that, breaking away from the classic Bossa Nova or even Samba from that period that they re-baptized ‘Crazy Rhythm’, was characterised by little instrumentation: and electric Rhodes piano and some synths, bass, drums and Brazilian percussion like the Ciuca, Berinbau or Tamburim that were used only on the first three records, in fact after a few years their percussionist died in an accident and after that they were never used any more, in memory to their friend to whom they were very close. Their true success in Brazil started in 1975 when the piece “Linha Do Horizonte” was used for a very famous soap opera then in 1976 they published another album and, in 1977, participated (the only Brazilian group to do so up until that moment) at the Montreaux Jazz Festival which opened the market to the European and American markets. In 1979, thanks also to the feedback obtained at the festival, they signed a contract with Milestone / Fantasy records (an historical American label that was used to signing up all those groups of a jazz flavour with tendencies towards Fusion or Jazz Funk) and the road was opened for their definitive consecration for Europe and America. “Light As A Feather” is the album that made them known to all and thanks to pieces like “Jazz Carnival” made them enter, apart from the dancefloors in places like Japan also, into the Guinness Book Of Records as the first Brazilian group programmed on the American radio stations for an entire year! In the eighties there followed other albums on which they changed formation and even labels, then, to follow, they went back to their original line up. Now, after thirty years and more than 15 albums, they celebrate this prestigious milestone with a European Tour that, In November, touched Italy also… In 1997 the English label Far Out, very in touch with the quality electronic and jazzy sounds, thought well of also having Azymuth as part of their stable alongside Marcos Valle (another giant of 60’s Brazilian music) for all those DJ’s and producers who are now lighting up our electronic nights by creating, at the end of the nineties together with their colleagues from Compost, this new Germanic or Anglo-Brazilian sound! There are many, in fact, collaborations that Azymuth have done or are currently doing with this new generation of producers because deep basses and 12 finger Rhodes chords has been part of their sound for years and they amalgamate perfectly to all these ‘nu productions’ and contribute towards the growth of this new sound. Those with 4 Hero, Seu Jorge and Natures Plan are just a few of these collaborations that we can define as ‘modern’ and if in them there maybe wasn’t the contribution of the ‘Crazy Sound’ of Azymuth we couldn’t begin to imagine what might have happened… The albums recorded on Far Out are “Before We Forget”, “Partido Novo” and the latest “Brazilian Soul” where Azymuth, to celebrate their thirty years, also involve high calibre musicians such as Roberto Menescal, Emilio Santiago, Marcio Lott, Fabiola, Ze Carlos and Leo Gandleman and where, in my opinion, the sound is truly incredible because it forges the ‘Brasileira’ soul with the sounds of today’s dancefloors, also the old generation with the new. Well, this focus on one of the most innovative groups on the Brazilian scene ends here: now, as always, over to you to begin searching! Peace.

stay happy forever

2006-10-30T11:06:00.000-08:00

After long and long stories i would like to remember you dancing like this.
love

Be-Bop is Jazz !

2006-10-24T11:44:00.000-07:00

Be-Bop is Jazz.

For some time now I have been asking myself many questions about the music that I propose and listen to… The most diffused kind of jazz is definitely that from the 50’s and the beginning of the 60’s also with some of the incredible standards, very diffused also is Jazz Rock or even 80’s Fusion. The trend of the moment, if that is what you can call it is Nu-Jazz which is also vulgarly called Lounge, that kind of redone and corrected Acid Jazz of the 90’s. Vibraphonics, Subterraneans, Quiet Boys, U.F.O., Mondo Grosso, DJ Takemura and many others had already done it all around 1993 but the people just didn’t understand! They said that it was stuff for the discos! ‘Why is it so hard to listen to different kinds of Jazz today?’, ‘everything that is in between, is it only Peterson who does it?’, ‘why don’t contemporary jazz musicians push towards Soul-Jazz or even other types of jazz like what happened abroad with the Boogaloo Investigators or New Mastersounds?’, ‘why is it always much easier to play ‘well known sure stuff’?’, ‘why do new DJ’s start off by playing Nu-Jazz / Acid Jazz without even knowing where the samples contained in their music come from?’. Well, where is jazz purism, where is the jazz culture in Italy and why have groups such as Marc 4 or Lesiman, Micalozzi and all of the Italian Librarians not had the generation recycle? What is the alternative, ‘does there really exist a Nu-Jazz that can be proposed in the clubs, does there still exist a kind of jazz culture?’, it is like saying ‘do UFO’s exist?’. That night I was asking myself too many questions. After years of Soul Beat that was what I was thinking that night, trying to lay on the table everything that was running around my head, trying to create a DJ set of alternative jazz – even if I don’t like this term – a DJ set that could ‘de-monstrate’ that there are other types of jazz. After a chat with one of the Last Poets who wrote that ‘Bop’, the continuous rhythm of the universe, must carry on ‘swinging’, everything was clear! The name must be something that united the ‘new stuff’ of the genre with the continuous rhythm of the universe, making it clear that it was about jazz. It must something that you don’t hear around, at least for some time… ‘Be-Bop’: to be bop, be in continuous rhythm or, just as it means in slang – forward, different, breaking out! This name could be the container for all jazz that isn’t standard, at least in its interpretation, it is not Jazz-Rock and above all not Nu-Jazz but ‘unconventional’ jazz, the kind that I look for. Now all I have to do is fill up the container and make sure that the contents are nice. Excluding all of the genres and periods mentioned above all that was left was for me to get looking in my favourite period which is also the one I am more expert in, if you can say that: 1967/1974 when jazz was amongst the ‘Soul Beat’ period? After finding the temporary era now I had to understand which type of jazz along with which labels etc.. I thought, seeing as the Universe is Bop and doesn’t belong to any party, religion or race my jazz should also be the same, a multi-culture jazz, open, new, swinging and groovy – practically everything that hasn’t been heard around! At this point everything was clear, the name, the era, the type and therefore: Indo-Jazz, Spiritual-Jazz, Soul-Jazz, Jazz-Oetry, Cosmic-Jazz, Hammond-Jazz, Latin-Jazz, Bossa-Jazz, Baroque-Jazz, German – Polish - Yugoslavian Jazz, White, Black or Yellow, MPS, KPM, Blue Note, Prestige, Atlantic, Tico, Black Jazz, Verve, Cenacolo, Doug Carn, Dave Pike, Lonnie Smith, Last Poets, Charlie Palmieri, Dee Felice Trio, Tamba Trio, Alice Coltrane, Dorothy Ashby, Bernard Purdie, Seguida, Indo-Jazzmen, Sun Ra. Now there is just one thing left: to start. Peace and Be-Bop all over the land.

Interview to Alan Hawkshaw

2006-10-22T02:06:00.000-07:00

It is roughly 15 years that I delight in selecting, collecting and proposing in the clubs this sound that mixes various sounds such as jazz, Bossa Nova, orchestral r’n’b from the end of the 60’s, soul funk, oriental influences in jazz music, rare grooves, soundtracks, themes and many other kinds of music that has been produced in a range of time that goes from the middle of the 60’s to the beginning of the 70’s. As it is a rather vast subject, after many years spent amongst such sounds there has risen in me the need to define it all with just one definition… thus was born ‘The Soul Beat’, a column where I will touch on, from time to time, all of the above mentioned genres! I will start off by telling you about the so called ‘library’ music, re-discovered recently and created by labels that, giving a free hand to better and less known composers, produced themes (with the help of the cream of session men of the time) that were used as background music for radio or television spots. The labels in questions were CONROY, MONTPARNASSE 2000, DE WOLFE, TELEMUSIC, BURTON, the most famous KPM and many others, Italian also, with whom collaborated names of the calibre of Umiliani, Morricone and Alessandroni! The re-discovery came about around 94 when three English DJ’s, with their “The Sound Gallery” compilation, brought back in a big way great grooves and great composers. It was however the DJ’s from Blow Up in London who found the skein in the web by launching “Exclusive Blends” that put into evidence the KPM label, putting up the prices even to this day (and who knows for how much longer)… Think about it a KPM could cost anything up to £150! The sound was very varied and touched on easy listening, pop, jazz, Bossa, beat, jazz funk and soul but it also wasn’t rare to find some ethnic or experimental sounds. There is nothing better now than to give you a run down of some of the more significant KPM’s that I have picked up throughout Europe or the most significant composers starting off with the mythical Alan Hawkshaw, an organist who composed, together with Keith Mansfield and Alan Parker in the KPM ‘green’ or ‘1000’ series, the most costly and sought after pieces, “Move Move Move”, “Soul Organ Impromptu”, “Beat Me Till I’m Blue”, “Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde Park”, “Senior Thump” or “The Storm”, some of which are contained on a very rare and very expensive album from the Mohawks (1968 – PAMA Records) where Hawkshaw played under the The Hawk name, re-discovered in the 80’s becoming celebrated with that organ riff “The Champ” that made hip-hop history (see KRS ONE and others). Many groups today, such as Corduroy, Jtq or Big Boss Men, have clearly been influenced by the ‘KPM Big beat’, also many DJ’s and collectors search for these pieces in places such as on line auctions in an effort to enrich their own collections, to drive the floors wild and, above all, to have new samples of drums, bass and various grooves… For those who are looking for KPM I will list a few titles: The Essential KPM’s 1000 series > Flamboyant Themes Vol. I, II, III, IV, Gentle Sound Vol. I, Flute For Moderns, Accent On Percussion, The Big Beat Vol. I and Vol. II, Music For A Young Generation, The Sound Of Pop, Beat Incidental and Colours In Rhythm. The Essential Composers > Alan Hawkshaw, Alan Parker, Alan Moorhouse, Keith Mansfield, Syd Dale, Johnny Pearson, Ray Cameron, David Lindup, Johnny Hawksworth.

After a lot of researching i get in touch with Alan Hawkshaw , one of my KPM and Organ player heroes .
I decide to ask him some questions about that music , that period and other things
Alan Hawkshaw were rediscovered in the mid 90's by Blow Up's DJ's for the " Exclusive Blends " Compilations .
Hawkshaw were one of the most wanted Organists during the Library music recordings period in the 60's till mid 70's and he’s still riding now days .
He recorded more than 7000 tracks for labels like KPM , Bruton Music , Music House etc . He was the leader of the mithic band called " Mohawks " , his 60's and 70's recordings are sold today up to 300 UKP and his riffs were sampled by loads of Hip Hop bands .His style is unmistakable songs like " Move Move Move " , " The Champ " , " Beat me till i'm Blue ", "Pepsi " , "Hot Pants", " L.S.D " , "Piccadilly night ride " are now masterpieces .
I had a chat with him trying to understand more about this man wich is not so easy to get informations about

INTERVIEW TO ALAN HAWKSHAW

Lets talk about the Mohawks , how did they born and who were the Mohawks ?we have so less informations about them .

The Mohawks was a scratch session of various well known session
musicians of which I was one. There was no actual band called the
Mohawks. My name on the record is Morris Hawk. Its that simple.

Which musicians did influence you at the beginning of your career ?

Musicians that influenced me early in pre-teens would have been Fats
Waller, Benny Payne, who are both pianists. Jazz pianists continued
to influence me right into my teens and beyond including Oscar
Peterson, George Shearing, Bill Evans, E rrol Garner.

How the relationship between you and KPM started?

An introduction to Robin Phillips who was head of KPM in 1962 by Guy
Fletcher . This led to a long association with Robin through various
other library companies including Music House and Bruton Music.

How do you define the end of 60'S KPM/ Mohawks sound , R'n'B , Pop ...

The Funky sound began to change during the early seventies as other
forms of popular music began to take shape. That it has been revived
in the 21st century is a mystery to me but I am flattered that this
gendre of music has sustained itself all these years.

How the relationship with Keith Mansfield started ?

Keith Mansfield met in the mid sixties while I was still in a rock
group called The Original Checkmates. He used me on most if not all
of his recording session from the mid sixties into the late seventies.

What about the Swinging London feeling we get listening to "Move Move Move" or "Soul Organ Showcase" album . Is still London Swinging now days?

I would say that the term Swinging London applies to the sixties
period. That decade was quite different than any other decade in that
it contained the tidle wave of the Beatles and the subsequent
Liverpool sound plus people were more aware of fashion. Hot Pants,
Flower Power were all part of the culture of that time and with the
advent of boutiques in fashion streets such as Carnaby Street the
term Swinging London encompassed all these elements. It may still be
swinging today but not in the same way as the sixties.

At the Big Beat vol 1/2 recording sessions was you thinking about create music for a spot or an advertisement or to make Youngster dance ?

Big Beat had no ulterior motive other than its energetic content. It
was typical of the music of that period.

You worked with loads of musicians , touching many kind of music , also near Rock things like Rumpletiltskin or the Hawkshaw version of Hair .
How these collaborations happened ?

All the musicians I worked with were part of the London session scene
and we all met on our various day to day sessions, of which I
recorded approximately 7000 during a 13 year period.

What you think about todays Organists wich are inspirate by Hawkshaw Style ?

I am flattered that organists are inspired by my style.

Whats your feeling about knowing that KPM records like "Big Beat vol 2" costs about 200 uk pounds or more?

I know collectors are paying large sums for certain vinyl albums of
the sixties. None of this money ever reaches me by the way.

Did you ever think about a Mohawks / KPM all-stars reunion after the Jazz Cafe success , some years ago?

I'd love to do another Jazz Cafe live concert with the KPM writers
and musicians and this will almost certainly happen within the
forseeable future.

Wich label gived you more creative space ? De Wolfe , KPM , Studio2 ?

KPM was without a doubt the first company to give me free license to
pursue my library writing and playing.

Some days ago KPM all stars played again at Jazz Cafe with a lot of energy and a lot of positive response .

use it before you loose it!

2006-10-18T12:44:00.000-07:00

in the past 4 years i use to write for some web sites like www.discoid.it , www.clubbity.net , www.jazzitalia.net , www.makesomenoise.it .
Im doing this today too , but after the " building of my Jazzmotel" i decide to concentrate all this thinking in one or 2 " containers ".
Thats why from today you will find some of my works , reviews and interviews directly inside this Motel.
the reason why i started this thing was to make the people know what i spent years to know , from my JAZID POSSE beginning in 1990 passing throught THE SOUL BEAT till BE-BOP .
You will find records reviews , thinkful thinkings and interviews made by me to artists , friends and idols like Alan Hawkshaw , DR Lonnie Smith , Brian Auger , Harvey Averne , Larry Harlow , Joe Bataan , Azymuth , Airto Moreira , Keith Mansfield and more ....
so put this Motel on your favourites and read it once a week .
Use it before you loose it .
Peace

the mission

2006-09-18T18:48:00.000-07:00

part 2

I was incredibly surprised , excited and illuminated!
JTQ was my new God , the Hammond Organ his verb , Bud beer the way ...
So i started to think "how to make the people know about ACIDJAZZ" , i mean my town people ...
I started to think wich were the best way to make ACID JAZZ to be played into Bar's , Pub's , Discos and everywhere.
The only way was to make my self a DJ , cause the DJ around where all about House Music.
But i was without money , 19 years old , a little work , lot of problems in my house , ......but with some good friends .
so i started my new adventure.

the beginning

2006-08-26T06:31:00.000-07:00

Everything started in 1989 .
I was listening on the Italian national radio channel 2 , they were talkin' about a new sound from London supported by many musicians like Simon Booth from Working Week , Steve White from the Style Council , a Dj called Gilles Peterson , a Poet called Rob Galliano and a "phantomatic" Organ player called James Taylor wich were famous for his "Starsky and Hutch" cover.
When i listened some pieces from a live gig and an album called Acid Jazz the Freedom Principle Plus a Brian Auger track called "the Tiger" ........ then i was illuminated.
THIS WERE MY MUSIC .
end of part1