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Funky 45's
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| Nick
Rossi Set - Monkeyshines b/w Five For One (Blow It Hard) -
Absolutely smashing disc by San Francisco's top Hammond combo. Anyone
familiar with this zine knows I am a connoisseur of organ grooves, and
this is an outstanding addition to my collection. Steeped in the sounds of classic 60's Blue Note sessions by Big John Patton and Jack McDuff, Rossi and company lay down two groovy - and danceable - sides (clocking in at almost 9 minutes total it's more like an EP) of B-3 boogaloo. The arrangements by reed-man Fil Lorenz are outstanding and the compositions are memorable, especially 'Five For One' (my fave here). Rossi is an outstanding organist (watch out JT!) , and groups like the NRS , Sugarman 3 and the Diplomats of Solid Sound are making the US the Hammond groove capitol of the world once again. www.nickrossiset.com blowithardrecords@hotmail.com |
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| The
Diplomats of Solid Sound - Instrumental Action Soul (Prescription)
- Full length by the corn belt's answer to Booker T. & The MG's (which
maybe a bad comparison since their sound is much more diverse than that).
Both tracks from the 45 reviewed last issue are here, as well eleven more
high quality tunes. The Diplomats manage to touch a lot of bases without
spreading themselves too thin, hitting on organ groove, funk, bossa nova,
spy/suspense music and soul jazz. It's a testament to their talent that
they can lay down a full CD of instrumentals without becoming boring or
repetitive. The highlights here are 'El Corazon Negro', the Meters-worthy
'Hot Stick' and the gritty 'Soul Slaw'. Go to the Diplomats site |
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Lee Fields & The
Dap-Kings - Give Me A Chance Pts1&2 (Daptone) - These two sides
of paradise are as stone solid groovy as modern funk gets. Led by
old-school turned new-school funk guru Lee Fields, NYC's Dap-Kings storm
through some absolutely brilliant funk - blasting horns, rolling drums and
some'o that good Binky Griptight guitar. Part two sees Lee namechecking
the 'Kings as they take a turn in the spotlight. Wicked. Go to Daptone |
| Sharon Jackson &
The Soul Destroyers - Fakin' It b/w Keep On (Stark Reality) - A
nice, wicked slice of funk from our friends in the UK. Jazzman Gerald has
outdone himself with this super gritty biscuit, with wailing organ, tight
tight horns and a solid vocal by Miz Jackson ("What it is what it is
what it is" INDEED!). The drumming by UK Funk-meister Malcolm Catto
is top-shelf. 'Fakin' It' is the faster of the two sides, but I dig the
gritty, afro-inflected groove of 'Keep On'. Gimme some more! Go to Jazzman Records |
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Kahuna Kawentzmann - Go Go Sitar b/w The Road To Estoril (Stark Reality) - Interesting fusion of a retro-suspense soundtrack vibe with a funky drums. 'Go Go Sitar' is a little hard to bear (especially that ear-drum destroying one-note organ solo), but 'Road To Estoril' more than makes up for it with a groovy Vampyros Lesbos sound (I love those Dennis Coffey-esque bongos juxtaposed with the Hank Marvin-y guitar). Groovy. |
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Joe Harriot / John Mayer Double Quintet – Indo-Jazz Suite (Koch Jazz) Indo –Jazz Fusions 1&2 (Redial/Emarcy) These two CD’s represent some of the
most interesting music recorded in the 60’s. Featuring all three albums
recorded by the Joe Harriott / John Mayer Double Quintet between 1966 and
1968, the titles pretty much tell the story. |
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mixtures of modern jazz and traditional Indian music. Harriott’s group
(alto, trumpet, piano, bass and drums) was juxtaposed with Mayer’s
(violin, sitar, tamboura, tabla and flute) in several traditionally
structured ragas, as well as scored pieces. The results were amazing. The two ‘sounds’ mixed remarkable well. Whereas many pop musicians of
the day were using Indian music in a decorative sense (i.e adding sitars,
tabla or tamboura to accent their music), Harriott and Mayer managed to
produce a true fusion in which the jazz players and the traditional Indian
players worked in a complementary fashion. As a result the sounds have a
distinctly organic feel as if the music was not in fact a fusion but a
cohesive, natural ‘whole’. The music on these LP’s is often quiet but frequently intense, and also consistently listenable. Those who might hesitate to pick up a ‘free jazz’ lp should not be put off. Compared to the intensity of Miles Davis’ electrified experiments with Badal Roy, or Ananda Shankar’s rock-inflected work, these three albums (which played back to back blend together quite well) represent a deceptively quiet alternative. While it isn’t quite accurate to call this music psychedelic, it is at times otherworldly and ‘head music’ in every sense. |
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