March 15, 2010
This album features the work of revolutionary jazz artists who created new radical music infused with the values of Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Self-determination, economic power and musical freedoms explode as the avant-garde collided with Black Power and Afro-centricity.
Released to coincide with the new book by Gilles Peterson and Stuart Baker on Soul Jazz Records, this album is jam-packed with super rare, deep jazz from artists many of which all feature heavily in the new book. The book itself presents an amazing collection of sleeves from the deepest, deepest jazz music ever.
Years before the D-I-Y cultural revolution of punk, Sun Ra, John Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, Don Cherry, Ornette Coleman, the Art Ensemble of Chicago and others ‘took control’ of their own work by recording, releasing and distributing their own music themselves.
The record sleeves of this era are as iconic and historically unique as the music itself and a striking reflection of the time; pre-desktop publishing, pre-internet these small-run (sometimes as low as 500 copies), self-made sleeves are graphically bold and radical.
Freedom, Rhythm and Sound is the first ever collection of this fascinating goldmine of album art, which represents the first wave of inspired independent production within popular music. Pick up the audible masterpieces here and grab a copy of the book for the accompanying visual masterpieces.
Gilles Peterson and Stuart Baker – Freedom, Rhythm and Sound: Revolutionary Jazz & The Civil Rights Movement 1963-82; Soul Jazz, 2009 Pt.1, Pt.2
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March 13, 2010
A little bit more of Dennis Brown is no problem in my book. Especially when it is these cuts being served up. This set collects some tough-to-find gems, from The Crown Prince of Reggae’s time spent with Joe Gibbs, that originally appeared on 12″.
Dennis Brown – A Little Bit More: Joe Gibbs 12″ Selection 1978-83; 17 North Parade, 2008
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March 10, 2010
The first disc in this 2-CD set features 16 studio cuts by the guitarist, recorded in 1999, that first saw issue on the album E.B. @ Noon, a collection that was pressed in very limited numbers. Now, at last, the album receives its long overdue official international release, finally providing his fans the world over the opportunity to experience & enjoy this stunning set.
Adding to the appeal of this already hugely attractive release is a second disc of a previously unreleased live concert, In O.D., featuring Ernest Ranglin performing some of his most popular Ska & Reggae sides live for an audience in the US with guest vocals from Floyd Lloyd.
Ernest Ranglin – Ska Wey Dat; Trojan, 2003
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March 8, 2010
Infradig was a group from Chattanooga, TN that played a blend of jazz, downtempo and breakbeats into one hella wicked groove. I was lucky enough to see them on quite a few occasions given their close proximity to the ATL. Supremely nice in the live setting and thoroughly pleasing on record. Picked these two up at a show during the Fall of 2006 at the Five Spot in Little Five Points. It’s their debut album, Clinical Indifference: The Psychology of Breathing (which unfortunately has track 7 missing), and an EP titled Graveltooth. Still need to get my hands on their last release before breaking up, in Sept. 2007, titled Ecstatic Everywhere. Send it over if ya got it.
Infradig – Clinical Indifference: The Psychology of Breathing; 2006
Infradig - Graveltooth EP; 2006
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March 6, 2010
Ray Barretto’s Hard Hands, the sequel to Acid, was released in 1968. He had come up as a conguero, working for Tito Puente and others but went solo after he had a hit with “El Watusi” in 1961. Perhaps because of the strong R&B component in his music, the vocals are in English, which obviously would give it a broader appeal in New York’s radio airwaves of the time, particularly among the African-American community. The title cut refers to the thundering power of Ray’s conga-playing, a nickname that would forever stick with him, and is followed by “Abidjan”, one of Ray’s biggest hits, a tribute to the Ivorian capital from which he had recently returned from exploring. The sounds of Mozambique, Mambo, Boogaloo, Funk, Bembé, and Soul are perfectly blended on this album making it an essential selection from the Fania catalog.
Ray Barretto – Hard Hands; Fania, 1968
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March 5, 2010
Just a year after releasing the internationally successful Rituals album, Italian jazz-head Nicola Conte returns with a double full-length compiling the re-worked, i.e. entirely newly arranged, tracks he has produced in the last years as so called “remixes“ for some of his friends, who also happen to be some of the most interesting contemporary jazz artists of the world. From Italy to Brasil, Latin America, the USA, Japan and back to Scandinavia and Germany, The Modern Sound Of Nicola Conte takes us on a journey into the most tasteful sounds you can get when it comes to Bossa-flavored Jazz, Latin excursions and soulful grooves.
Nicola Conte – The Modern Sound of Nicola Conte – Versions in Jazz Dub; Schema, 2009 Pt.1, Pt.2
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February 28, 2010
Bomb It is the explosive new documentary from award-winning director Jon Reiss investigating the most subversive and controversial art form currently shaping international youth culture: graffiti.
Through interviews and guerilla footage of graffiti writers in action on 5 continents, Bomb It tells the story of graffiti from its origins in prehistoric cave paintings thru its notorious explosion in New York City during the 70’s and 80’s, then follows the flames as they paint the globe. Featuring old school legends and current favorites such as Taki 183, Cornbread, Stay High 149, T-Kid, Cope 2, Zephyr, Revs, Os Gemeos, KET, Chino, Shepard Fairey, Revok, and Mear One. This cutting edge documentary tracks down today’s most innovative and pervasive street artists as they battle for control over the urban visual landscape. You’ll never look at public space the same way again.
Bomb It was shot in Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Tijuana, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Hamburg, Berlin, Cape Town, São Paulo, and Tokyo.
Bomb It – Directed by Jon Reiss; 2007
Pt.1, Pt.2, Pt.3, Pt.4, Pt.5, Pt.6, Pt.7, Pt.8
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February 27, 2010
Anyone who knows R. Crumb’s work as an illustrator knows of his passion for music. And all those who collect his work, prize the Heroes of the Blues, Early Jazz Greats, and Pioneers of Country Music trading-card sets he created in the early- to mid-1980s. This collection coincides with those sets and was selected and compiled by R. Crumb himself. A characteristically idiosyncratic tribute by an underground icon to the musical innovators who helped inspire him, R. Crumb’s Heroes of Blues, Jazz & Country is a must-have collection for Crumb aficionados and music lovers alike.
R. Crumb’s Heroes of Blues, Jazz & Country; Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 2006
View the collection of 36 trading cards
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February 26, 2010
This album had me crackin’ up the other nite. F’n hilarious.
Kyle Kinane – Death of the Party; AST, 2010
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February 25, 2010
Man…or Astroman?, one of my favorite bands ever and the band I’ve seen perform live the most in my life (The Woggles and The Robustos following closely behind), is reuniting for a select amount of shows in Atlanta, Birmingham and Austin next month. Read Chunklet magazine’s reunion interview here.
Getting in the mode of thought that I was actually going to be able to attend the shows, I started diggin’ in my limited surf crates and came out with the tunes I’d use to get psyched about it.
Regretfully, I was still in the phase of exchanging records when I was heavily into surf music and many vanished from the crates. I did hang on to my favorites though and was able to recover some via blogs. Hadn’t listened to these tunes in a long time, and, upon revisiting them, it took me back to the days of high school and remembering some of those amazing surf and garage shows at the Wreck Room, Cotton Club (original location on P’tree and 11th), The Point, The Star Bar, Echo Lounge, Somber Reptile, Masquerade, The Bottletree, inside WREK 91.1 FM studios, and the 40 Watt.
Top Rankin’ Hi-Fi – Static Impulses of Collapsing Vortices; 2010
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February 24, 2010
In the 1970s, Philadelphia’s sound of Philly Soul was successful throughout the world with many groups such as the O’Jays, Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes and The People’s Choice achieving hit after hit. The Sound of Philadelphia traces the origins of this Philly sound in the late sixties and early seventies featuring artists who went on to worldwide success and those who never made it out of the metropolitan area. Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, the songwriters and producers responsible for most of the hits in the 70s are behind many of the songs here. Harris, Baker and Young, the team responsible for MFSB, the most successful studio band in Philadelphia as well as a hugely successful group in its own right, are also featured here. A number of tracks feature their big orchestral sound that became synonymous with Philadelphia in the 70s and later Disco. Dig in to these stellar East Coast vibes.
The Sound of Philadelphia: Funk, Soul and the Roots of Disco 1965-75 Vol.1 & Vol.2; Soul Jazz, 2001 / 2004
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February 23, 2010
The new studio album from the legendary Mulatu Astatke. The session finds him exploring new directions in the fusion of Western jazz and Ethiopian modes, a natural development of the innovative, intoxicating sound that he pioneered in the 60s and 70s. The album was recorded with personnel from Boston’s Either/Orchestra, with further contributions from traditional Ethiopian musicians in Addis Ababa, members of The Heliocentrics and some of the UK’s finest Jazz and African-music players.
Mulatu Astatke – Mulatu Steps Ahead; Strut, 2010
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February 20, 2010
The first ever compilation of Cuban funk: Si, Para Usted: The Funky Beats of Revolutionary Cuba, Volume One. An unprecedented combination of socialism and artistic freedom flourished during the mid-years of Castro’s Cuba, enabling musicians to create an innovative body of music based on traditional styles like those made famous by the Buena Vista Social Club. Si, Para Usted captures the spirit of this time. The music ranges from son, beat, jazz, and funk, and abounds with psychedelic influences, electronic experimentation, and a heavy dose of soul. Communist funk may seem unlikely, but here it is.
Compiled by Dan Zacks of Waxing Deep Radio in response to massive listener demand for the Cuban music played on the show. Outside of the Waxing Deep archive, the bulk of funky Cuban music is virtually unobtainable. Cuban recordings were never widely distributed and few have been reissued. Utterly committed to sharing good music, Dan took it upon himself to make these fantastic tracks more widely accessible. Almost all of the tracks were re-mastered from the original tapes kept by the Cuban government in a dusty Havana warehouse. Given the poor quality of Cuban vinyl, this means the music on Si, Para Usted has a quality of sound previously unavailable. Quite simply, the music has never sounded this good.
Si Para Usted: The Funky Beats of Revolutionary Cuba Vol.1; Waxing Deep, 2007
I’ve been on the hunt for the followup release for months now. I’d love to give it a listen, so if you have it, send it my way.
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February 16, 2010
In Food, Inc., filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation’s food industry, exposing the highly-mechanized underbelly that has been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government’s regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. Our nation’s food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment. We have bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop, herbicide-resistant soybean seeds, even tomatoes that won’t go bad, but we also have new strains of E. coli—the harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually. We are riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults.
Featuring interviews with such experts as Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation), Michael Pollan (The Omnivore’s Dilemma, In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto) along with forward thinking social entrepreneurs like Stonyfield’s Gary Hirshberg and Polyface Farms’ Joel Salatin; Food, Inc. reveals surprising—and often shocking truths—about what we eat, how it’s produced, who we have become as a nation and where we are going from here.
Food, Inc. – Directed by Robert Kenner; 2008; Pt.1, Pt.2, Pt.3, Pt.4
Note: I made this post back in December, looks like the links are dead now and I don’t have any to re-up. Nonetheless, you should check this movie out one way or another as it’s an excellent documentary.
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