When you assume you make an ass out of you…but mostly me.
Months ago, I drew up plans to complete the renovations on my condo with the goal of moving my girlfriend in. It was a simple plan that involved expanding my closet to a walk in closet, remodeling my bathroom and updating the fixtures, and finally opening up storage space in my attic. See, certain units in my building have a roof area over part of them that isn’t used. I made the assumption that mine was one of those units.
I was wrong.
My friend Brian and I carved a hole in my wall in an attempt to see how much space was back there…but we hit a wall. Literally, a plaster wall. It was then that Brian suggested we venture onto the roof to see for ourselves what was on the other side of the wall.
The answer? Open sky and my AC unit. No attic.
I guess a hole in my wall is a small price to pay, but I guess next time I should investigate more before cutting into the wall. Shit, you could even see the roof space on Google maps.
Another assumption you should never make is that all the best music from old artists has already been released, as is the case with this week’s pick – trumpeter Donald Byrd’s “Kofi.”
Back in the 90’s Blue Note Records and EMI collaborated on a reissue series called Blue Note Rare Groove. I had picked up a couple of these recordings, many unreleased, and was really impressed with the quality of both the recordings and the material. This was some prime shit right here! Unfortunately, most of those CDs are now out of print…although a patient selecta can still grab a copy if you look around.
Byrd was born in Detroit and attended The Cass Technical High School where he soon found himself jamming with Lionel Hampton. After a stint in the Air Force, he got his bachelors (at Wayne State) and then masters degree in music from The Manhattan School of Music. While getting his masters, he joined a little group called The Jazz Messengers, led by Art Blakely. Word.
In 1956 though, he left the Messengers and started jamming with all the heavy hitters in the jazz world. Cats like Coltrane, Monk, and Herbie Hancock. It was during this period that he began to excel at a new brand of jazz called hard-bop, an extension of the Be-Bop style. This sound propelled Byrd all through the sixties until he reached the seventies and began to drift towards a new collaboration of jazz-fusion. “Kofi” uniquely captures this moment in his career perfectly.
Culled from two separate recording sessions, one in 1969 and the other in 1970, “Kofi” finds Byrd straddling two worlds. The first two tracks ‘Kofi’ and ‘Fufu’ are pure sixties hard bop, modal jazz and with help from his backing musicians Byrd creates pure magic with the best tracks on the album. Notably different are the last three songs recorded in 1970. ‘Perpetual Love,’ “Elmina’ and ‘The Loud Minority’ are proto acid jazz. Moody and full of funky flavor.
If you’ve never heard of Byrd, or just heard of him in passing and aren’t familiar with his solo work, this is a great piece to own.
Welcome everyone to the 100th post here at Albums Everyone Should Own, I’m so glad you could make it! Did you remember to bring beer?
No? Well, there’s still time to run to AM/PM.
You know, it was only seven months ago that I started this blog with a hope to not only fill the dead space during our off season, but to inform the general public of fucking awesome music that they need. Along they way, I’ve tried to give props to the great albums out there that most people know about, but also to some albums that not everyone knows…records that may have slipped through the cracks.
So far, I think it’s going pretty well.
I’d like to take the time to thank those bloggers who have supported my cause, so shouts out to CorrinaCorrina, What The Deuce, And Ya Don’t Stop and The Musics Over for all the great linkage. Come on down to my bar sometime and the drinks are on me.
But, I’d also like to take the time to thank you, the anonymous Internet reader for allowing me an audience. If it weren’t for all the hits, I probably would have lost interest long ago and gone back to my other job…drinking until I can’t feel feelings.
So keep on visiting, and I’ll keep throwing up the bomb for all who care enough to dig for it. And speaking of digging, I dug up some dusty soul jazz grooves for you today by the name of Young-Holt Unlimited with their 1967 live release “On Stage.”
Drummer Isaac ‘Red” Holt and Bassist Eldee Young were a part of the famous Ramsey Lewis Trio in the early sixties where they had a hand in creating two of Lewis’s biggest hits of the day ‘The In Crowd’ and ‘Hang On Sloopy.’ In 1966, though, they left the group to pursue their own direction and hooked up with pianist Hysear Don Walker in 1966 to form The Young-Holt Trio.
Said trio only made one album, titled after their only hit ‘Wack Wack,’ after which Hysear left the group. After a period with Ken Chaney on Piano, he was replaced by Floyd Morris and the group became Young-Holt Unlimited. There seems to be some confusion as to when this happened, as all the information I’ve found says the name change didn’t happen until 1968, but our album “On Stage” was released in 1967 and clearly names the group as Young-Holt Unlimited…but then again does it really fucking matter?
No, but I’m a little hung over from celebrating, and it makes me testy.
(If you’ve heard of Young-Holt, it’s probably because of their famous backing track to the Barbara Acklin hit ‘Am I The Same Girl?’ Their arrangement was so hot that the group also released it as an instrumental called ‘Soulful Strut’ with Floyd’s piano replacing the vocals.)
I’ve always loved the soul jazz genre because it had a much smoother sound than the jazz funk era that was to come, and while it had a good run, I’ve always felt they could have dome more. This is pretty self evident considering the raw energy captured in “On Stage.” The recording captures more than the music, but also the feel of the famous Bohemian Cavern in which it was recorded …right down to the band’s banter with the audience and the screams of delight from the crowd. No track displays this better than the medley of ‘Wade In The Water/ Ain’t There Something That Money Can’t Buy,’ part of which you’ll hear above.
Truth be told, I’m not that thrilled with their version of Mellow Yellow, but the monster ‘Yon Gimme Thum’ that closes the set pretty much seals the deal for me anyways.
I got introduced to these guys in college and their Greatest Hits album was a staple of our pool room/bar/garage hangout for the three years that we had it. This album is highly recommended to people aho have hangouts and the folks that like to hang out in them. Grab it HERE!
Tuesday is here and our economy is so far in the shitter that other countries are now calling us to bitch about our governments inaction. With all the conflicting views, fear mongering and catch phrase tossing going on, it’s hard to get a handle on the situation.
Luckily I have my Dad to answer these questions. He’s worked in the financial sector for my whole life, and he’s my go to guy for any information about the markets…and any lingering questions I may have about the great battles of World War II. I thought I’d share his insight with you, because there doesn’t seem to be a lot of good information out there.
And there needs to be…even if it comes from a music blog.
He says:
“If you want to get into the real history of this whole thing you need to go back to the late 1960’s. At that time the Government created GNMA (Ginnie Mae) as an agency to package and insure mortgage pools. Prior to that the issuing bank had to retain the mortgage which in turn limited their ability to make new loans. GNMA was created to allow banks to package up the old mortgages and resell them so that the bank could then go out and create a new mortgage. These GNMA mortgage pools were insured and this was paid for by having the buyer take a lower return than the pool would otherwise show (a pool of 6% mortgages would pay to the purchaser of the pool 5.5% with the 1/2% going to the GNMA and the servic-er of the mortgage (the guy who collected the moneys and did the bookkeeping). Over time these vehicles became very popular among the various accounts who emphasized fixed income (banks, insurance companies, pension accounts).
Their major complaint was that they kept getting back principal every month which presented problems for the reinvestment of these funds. They wanted something that paid the same (mortgage pools typically pay more because the maturity is so variable – when you refinance the whole loan is paid off early) but with more predictable maturities. Thus was born the Mortage Backed Security pools (MBS). These pools directed any return of principal to one piece (traunch) of the pool until it was paid off and then started paying off the second traunch. Because these pools were over collateralized (104-105% of the principal was deposited) they were rated AAA. Some continued to guaranteed by the government but many were not. All were typically AAA and thus eligible to be purchased by very conservative buyers.
Step two came when the Federal Reserve responded to the dot com bubble bursting by lowering interest rates so dramatically in the early 2000’s. The demand for high income, highly rated vehicles continued and Wall Street tried to figure out new ways to create those vehicles. Congress also came out in 2002 and encouraged banks and savings and loans to make mortgages more available to lower income buyers. Thus was created the zero down no monthly payment mortgage.
Housing prices boomed due to the increased demand. The banks went to Wall Street to find a way to resell these new mortgages. Wall Street went to the rating agencies (Moody’s and Standard & Poors) and asked how the pools could be structured to obtain a AAA rating. The rating agencies did some back testing and came up with a formula that established the criteria to get the AAA. When the prices began slowing in 2006 and the default rates began rising on the new mortgages beyond what the agencies had expected they began downgrading the existing pools. Many of the buyers could not own lower rated pools so they were forced to sell. This depressed prices and caused the value of all pools to sag. Under the rules the banks that continued to hold pools had to take write offs which started leading to the need for new capital. This whole thing continued to spiral until banks began failing and certain parts of our financial system began failing as well.
Today the Auction Rate Securities market which worked for 20 years has stopped functioning altogether, the commercial paper market which allowed corporations to borrow short term is faltering, banks and insurance companies don’t want to loan to each other…even overnight, the whole system is very shaky. Remember the system we operate under requires faith (think “It’s a Wonderful Life” and the run on the bank that James Stewart owned). If people start hearing rumors that they have to get their money out of the bank because is is going to fail then their with-drawls can cause the bank to fail. That is what killed Indy Mac and WaMu.
This brings us to yesterday. The plan was for the government to buy assets at a discount to fair market value but probably up from where those assets had been trading. The government (read taxpayer) would get a good deal and the buying should stabilize the prices for other assets which would help the balance sheets for all banks In the long run the government should do very well. Check out the history of the Chrysler loan and check out the Home Owner’s Corp created in 1933 under similar circumstances which ran until 1951. In both cases the government made money. Now look at how the $85 Billion AIG deal was structured. AIG should survive but the shareholders are paying a huge price. The terms of the loan require that they pay about 11.5% for the money plus a $1.7 Billion dollar up front fee plus warrants to but the stock if the company survives. In exchange for the loan the government gets first call on all of the AIG assets estimated at $1 Trillion (that’s right. Trillion!).
In conclusion I think it will be a good deal for the taxpayer but I also think we need to do this last week. If we wait the system could start collapsing which could stop the ATM’s, checking accounts, credit cards. Just stop and think how many things we do on a daily basis that requires a functioning banking system. If that system falters or stops even temporarily what would you do?”
Hope that helps.
Now on to the program of awesome music you should own with very little financial risk. Music like Nicola Conte’s 2004 effort, “Other Directions.”
Some of you may remember Conte from his first album, 2000’s “Jet Sounds,” that firmly planted his flag on the mountain of the electro jazz movement. With it’s lead single “Bossa Per Due” getting play from people like Thievery Corp and Gilles Peterson, and appearing in commercials as well, the album proved a huge international success.
Born in Bari, Italy, Conte was trained as a classical guitarist when he began DJing and producing. Sharing a love of Bossa Nova, Italian and French Jazz, as well as the Acid Jazz scene, Conte and his like minded friends formed a group called “The Fez Collective” and a label called Schema. (you’ll find more on that in my post about Gerardo Frisina HERE) As Producer he has helped cull the careers of such acts as Paolo Achenza Trio, Rosalia De Souza and a slew of funky remix jobs that I can’t even begin to list here. As a DJ he, like a lot of DJs, has a love of all things old and awesome…which brings us to “Other Directions.”
After “Jet Sounds,” Conte could have followed the same formula and still seen success. I think a lot of people bought “Other Directions” expecting just that…but as a musician and DJ, he felt the compulsion to go back to the past and bring it into the future…and the listener gets to reap the rewards. Released by the mighty Blue Note label “Other Directions” is a 1960’s fusion album, released in the 2000’s. Backed by a full jazz band and playing guitar, Conte weaves a jazzy tapestry that borrows heavily from the past but still incorportaes little glimpses of the future. My favorite track, ‘Kind of Sunshine’ (hear it up top) takes the old time song ‘You Are My Sunshine’ on a jazzy ride that you have to hear to believe. What stands out, aside from the stellar production and the almost House-y beat…is the sound.
That incredibly stylish sound.
I love jazz, but I mostly love old jazz because the stuff that comes out today sounds over produced and a little too safe for me. Nicola’s work here sounds almost as if it was plucked from the dusty record shelves yesterday and the warmth of the sound is undeniable. I listened to this album on a loop at work until my cube-mates forced me to stop. Check out the stylish ‘Nefertiti’above or the driving ‘Impulso’ below if you doubt my words. I wish I had ten albums like this.
If you like a stylish retro vibe as much as you like your downtempo jazz, you really will piss yourself over this album…but in a good way.
I kind of wish I could say my grandparents had turned me on to Frank Sinatra…because that would sound kind of cool and make it seem as if I had had some kind of hipster grandparents who dug the jazz and knew all the ingredients of a good gimlet.
But, alas, neither set seemed very interested in music at all. I’m not even sure they were aware that music existed. My Mother’s parents owned a ranch and raised cattle and quarter horses. My Dad’s parents…
Well, my Dad’s parents lived in Yuba City. Google it.
In the end I discovered Frank through people my own age when my friends and I entered our “Lounge” phase in college, Sinatra became a large part of our lives very quickly. Disgruntled by the fact that no one in our group was in a fraternity, and we weren’t invited to any of the formal parties, we began to throw our own “Lounge Parties.” And they were a huge hit.
This was nice because the ladies enjoyed the suave atmosphere, music and drinks…and we
enjoyed the ladies. That and we hired doormen to keep the Greeks out.But regardless of your affiliation or age group, Frank Sinatra is a man whose music has sort of a universal appeal. This is due not only to the fact that Frank was an amazing badass, but more from his incredibly great taste in producers and musicians. Frank knew who to pick and when and it served him well. This is what set him apart from his Rat Pack compatriots, and kept his career strong for as long as it lasted.
When I started listening to Frank, I was a huge fan of his live 1966 album “Sinatra at the Sands.” Here you find Frank in full Vegas mode backed by none other than the Count Basie Orchestra with Quincy Jones producing. It’s an excellent time capsule for the period, and full of great music…but I wanted more.
More of the more pensive Frank who cut the concept album with Jobim. More of a jazzier Frank.
And in 1997 I got my wish when Blue Note records released the recording of “Frank Sinatra with the Red Norvo Quintet, Live in Australia, 1959 ” It’s quite a mouthful for a title, and as far as I know the only Sinatra recording Blue Note has released, but it ranks up there as one of the best live recordings of the man I’ve ever heard.
The sound quality is far from stellar…but it was 1959, and despite of the lack of high quality recording equipment, the absolutely stunning energy of the performance lifts this album higher than it might otherwise be. Have a listen to the curtain dropping version of ‘Night and Day’ above. So stylized by Red Norvo’s Quintet as to be unrecognizable at first, the crowd gives an audible gasp when Frank transitions right into it…smooth as silk.
Any question that Frank was only as good as his backing band dissipates with the first listen, although that is no swipe at Norvo and his group. Quite the contrary, it’s Norvo’s sparse arrangements and shimmering vibe work that allow Sinatra the freedom to really stretch his voice on this recording. And that feeling of relaxed enjoyment from Frank that pushes the envelope here, as is evident on this recording of ‘I’ve Got You Under My Skin’ where he takes a dig at some guy in the front row.
It’s a feeling of real joy and enjoyment that seems to seep from every nook of this record…right down to Frank’s banter with the obviously enraptured audience. And after a listen you may count yourself among their number.
Most of my friends are very aware of my obsession with digging up samples, so when Summer told me that her dad had one for me I wasn’t surprised. What did surprise me was that it was a sample from a Sublime song, and that the source album was as awesome as it was. That album was Herbie Mann’s 1961 live album, “At the Village Gate.”
You like jazz flute? I mean this in a completely non-Ron Burgandy kind of way because aside from the crap you hear on any of the smooth jazz stations, most aren’t aware of what a singularly amazing instrument the flute can be in the hands of artists like Jermey Steig, or Herbie Mann. At least the Herbie Mann of 1961, since current releases by the man are just way too…what’s the word?
Safe.
Yeah…too safe. And if you want the real jazz, safe is as far as you can get from where you want to be. Just coming off a South American tour at the time, Mann was already experimenting with sounds from the Caribbean and Africa when he began to incorporate the bossa nova and latin influences into his work. And they mix so well, especially with the reverberations of the cool jazz that Miles had laid the foundations for in the previous decade.
And here, at the Villlage Gate on Bleeker Street was where it all came together. The recording take you back to that single point in time, when it was really going down.
The live audience adds to the mood as well, shouting out out enthusiastic (alcohol induced) encouragement in the rare silences that punctuate this recording. With a startlingly cool rendition of ‘Coming Home Baby’ that jams hard with the help of Hagood Hardy’s amazing vibe work interweaving with Mann’s flute, the album kicks off with a subtle bang. Mann follows next with a rendition of Gershwin’s ‘Summertime,’ a tune that has been played out in numerous other recordings, but here finds a new and far funkier life than it ever had…before or since. Younger listeners will recognize it as the haunting sample behind Sublime’s hit ‘Doin Time.”
The second half of the CD (other side of the record for the older crowd) is an awesome twenty minute rendition of another Gershwin favorite ‘It Ain’t Necessarily So,’ and once again Mann and his bandmates take it to a completely different and amazing place. With Herbie’s flute tracing a path through the middle east with it’s melodies, the track is highlighted by a solo from percussionist Chief Bey that literally brings the house down.
Here’s another sparkling jazz album that will go well with your next poolside cocktail party. I know most people will have no idea who Paul Desmond is, which is why it’s such a joy to let the cat out of the bag here.
Paul was lead saxophone for the Dave Brubeck Quartet through the 50’s and 60’s before he finally decided to strike out on his own.
His sound?
Something that sounds like Stan Getz and a dry martini on sax.
Luckily, at the time A&M and it’s Verve offshoot label CTI were in the midst of putting out a slew of amazing jazz albums at the same time and picked up Mr Desmond.
The new label collaboration was already getting a lot of buzz, not just for the artists they featured, but for the artists they chose to back them. “From the Hot Afternoon” is no exception with Sergio Mendes and the Don Sebresky orchestra providing a lush Brazilian themed backdrop for Desmond’s sly saxophone work.
Luckily there were a slew of A&M/CTI reissues in the last few years that brought nearly forgotten gems like this to light. You can find it at most online retailers. If you like Bossa Nova, Jobim, Brubeck, Mendes or any combination of the list…do yourself a favor and check it out.
For the life of me I’ve never understood why more people aren’t into Thievery Corporation. It’s not like their music isn’t good, accessible or easily enjoyable to people with only a hint of taste…or none at all. Yet there are still folks out there who have never heard of them, and don’t own one of their albums. These poor, out of touch losers walk around this planet in a state of complete apathy.
But there is hope.
Simply buy/burn them a copy of Thievery Corp’s 2005 album “The Cosmic Game” or keep it for yourself.
“But, why DJ Tim?”
Simple. Because, like all the other albums featured on this blog, it’s awesome.
Born of two like minded music freaks from Washington DC, Rob Garza and Eric Hilton met and began collaborating at the famous Eighteenth Street Lounge back in 1995. They found that they liked the same collections of dub, lounge, jazz, bossa nova and hip hop…so they brought their styles to the studio and Thievery Corp was born.
They released a couple of ear catching singles that put them on a lot of underground DJ’s radar ( a groovy radar to be on, if you make cool shit) with their newly formed ESL label, and soon released “Sounds from the Theivery Hi Fi.” A lot of people have tried to categorize them with labels like “leftfield” or “downtempo,” but categories aside (who needs em?) they just enjoy making great music that I love.
One of their only ALbums I own on wax, “The Cosmic Game” is darker than the previous album, with a lot more rock flourishes than before. this is maily thanks to a stellar line up of guest stars like David Byrne on ‘The Heart’s A Lonely Hunter’ of The Flaming Lips on ‘Marching The Hate Machines…’
If you like your beats chilled and your ambiance cool, this is the stuff for you.
Even if you don’t, chances are you will at some point in the future, so it’s best to be prepared!
Of all the things an album can aspire to, I’d like to think getting people to dance is top of the list. If you think about it, it doesn’t happen that often, and when it does…it’s rarely for an entire album. Thank God for Gerardo Frisina.
Who?
Gerardo Frisina is a producer/composer/musician from Italy with a thing for Latin grooves. Back in 1997 he and label mate Nicola Conte (you’ll hear more about him in the future) helped form Schema records with a goal of releasing lots of juicy international grooves, with a slant towards Italio/latin jazz and Bossa Nova. They also release artists like S-Tone Inc and Soulstance. Frisina’s albums and singles have been a crate staple for dancefloor DJ’s for years…and for good reason.
The Man knows what he’s doing.
After dropping two fantastic albums in the first half of this decade, “Ad Lib” (2001) and “Hi Note” (2004), he finally hit on his masterpiece “The Latin Kick” in 2005. When Frisian makes Latin beats, they always seems to have a delightfully Italio-jazz flavor to them with touches of afro-cuban, bossa nova and house music thrown in. His compositions are full of classic jazz touches like lush strings and smooth horn sections. To say this is his best album so far is saying a lot…especially if you happened to pick up his earlier work, but he does seem to improve on every album.
“The Latin Kick” is full of sparkling tunes that will set off any tropical setting from the beach to the pool. Like the amazing afro rhythms of ‘Gods of Yoruba’or the insane percussions and piano grooves of ‘Gosto de Que e Bom.’ The song you’ll find above is called ‘Cohete’ and I demand that you dig it now.
You should buy this album if you like the following things:
1. Ass Shaking
2. Latin, Afro, Jazz, Bossa Nova…or any combination of the list
3. Hanging out with scantily clad members of the opposite sex in a tropical setting…maybe with cocktails (no, definitely with cocktails)
