These Be Tha Good Times

Hey "Fear", I hate you.

A huge change in a brotha's life usually brings hesitation, doubt, 2nd thoughts, nervousness, and fear. These are the enemies that are trying to creep up on me right now as I type this. But no, I will stay faithful in the face of doubt and laugh in the face of fear. I know that God will bless me because he said he would in his word.

"Everybody in the club, Try and get as fresh as me, What you want dog, Trying to stay recession free," © Kanye West.

Mark E & Dragon - Good Times

http://www.mediafire.com/?oziq2jcmtz2

Heady Brew

Can't say I'm sorry if you never read this.

Can't touch me, can't see me, can't even know I exist.

My moves are ghosted,but I see you drifting.

Got too much to love than to let you spoil it.

There's no more you and me.

My sounds go with me, my ideas become memories.

There is no lurk, there is no spirit, there is only shards of wisdom.

If you ever learn you'll know that I'm always beyond your room, a muffled curiousity to your senses.

Find your own place.

For my peoples, here's M.C.D.E.

Late last year I slept on the 3&4 and am still paying for it; these are even better w/ a dash of Trus'me on the rmx of #5 (I think).

RAW cuts #5

RAW cuts #6

Andrés II

Andrés II just came out on the sneak tip. I'm guessing it was released today or yesterday. At first, I only found it for sale on 2 sites: Interstellarsounds.com and one Japanese webpage. Discogs sellers are already jackin' the price up.

But then I realized you can buy it straight from Mahogani Music.com (A site that was basically dead a few months ago with only a Mahogani logo as a place holder). Now it's alive and thumping. You can grab the album from the store using Paypal too, thank goodness.

We are huge KDJ, Mahogani Music, Moodyman, Andrés fans around here, and these are the type of releases I have no problem spending doe on. Think of it as a stimulus package for your ears. Grab it while the prices are within reason / aka / before the "collectors" grab all the copies and jack the price up.

Enjoy,
Pro

Dusty Fingers

Thanks to Jimmy for bringing it back. Blowing the dust off the blog. Putting dust on my fingers.

It's been a long time since I posted & a long time since I been to the local record shop. I got constant reminders from a very good friend of mine to head on over to the store and grab some records. After months of delay, I hooked up with another friend, grabbed some cash, put on some comfortable shoes, my Indian Jones hat, and went digging. And I loved every second of it.

T-Connection - Saturday Night

http://www.mediafire.com/?bmzjduojonj

You might say, "oh this is just another disco track". Well I say "your a stupid mother..." SHUT YO MOUTH. The way the bass burns on this track is just sick. So funky that it make's me want to slap my mother. But I like living, so I won't.

Superfunk - La Guerre Du Funk: They took 12 seconds of the track, looped it, 4 on the floor, phazer, and made a jam. Gotta love house.

One,
Pro

Classic Trax Archival Post #02

Belle Epoque - Miss Broadway

Herman Kelly - Dance to the Drummers Beat

Dove Shack - Summertime in the LBC

Shay Shyst - Where I Wanna Be
B-Rock & Tha Bizz - My Baby Daddy

The Strikers - Body Music 

Idris Muhammad - Could Heaven Ever Be Like This

King Curtis - Memphis Soul Stew

Booker T & the MG's - Green Onions

Vaughn Mason & Crew - Bounce,Rock,Skate,Roll

Motown Sounds - Bad Mouthin'

Slave - Because of You

Michael Wycoff - Looking Up To You

B.B. & Q. Band - Imagination

Isaac Hayes - Hungry for your love

Classic Trax Archival Post #01

Skyy - Call Me

Fatback Band - All Day

Tom Browne - Thighs High 

TS Monk - Bon Bon Vie 

Freedom Express - Get Down

MFSB - Something For Nothing

Stephanie Mills Ft. Teddy Pendergrass - Two Hearts 

Don Blackman - Holding You, Loving You 

24 Carat Black - Ghetto Misfortune's Wealth 

William Devaughn - Be Thankful For What You Got

The Spinners - The Rubberband Man 

Johnny Earl & Jenny - Dub Street 

Prince Charles & The City Beat Band - In The Streets 

Curtis Mayfield - Love Me, Love Me Now 

Brothers Johnson - Runnin' For Your Lovin'

Tyrone Brunson - The Smurf 

Players Association - Turn The Music Up 

Orange "Juice" Jones -  Walking In The Rain 

Sade - Never As Good As The First Time 

Isley Brothers - Footsteps In The Dark 

Glenn Jones - Can We Try Again 

Dexter Wansel - New Beginning 

Switch - I Call Your Name 

 

Riding High

Following up on the Adidas and Pilooski advert hype , not to mention classic Mateo & Matos..

Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons - Beggin

MAD PROFESSOR

Burden Bearer Dub

Raging Storm

Space Dub

Hey folks!

Long time, no smell eh? This is that block bleeda, sappy as fuck but staying outta trouble of recent dude. Some news for those who care, I got hitched in New Orleans last winter. I met B back in the early double-O's daze and she's been getting my back ever since, even when I had to take my hard knocks. 

My ying&yang, Classictrax is back and so is Lifted_Holmz. Stay tuned in and I'll keep it on the regs. For my cutty mofos in the spot, the password has been reset back to the original p/w. If you need to get at me for anything or just to drop a line hit me up at infinite.jimmy :at: liftedholmz.com.

And for the record I'm still as unstable (read:poor) as before but this time round I'll just spare yall my embaressments and stick to what I'm feeling musically. 

OK, now back to the musik... Since reviewing yester year's uploads I decided to archive them on my site and will reup the others in the next. 

Frederick - I'll Be Gentle

James & Bobby Purify - I'm Your Puppet

Willie Hutch - I Choose You

The Crusaders - Southern Comfort

Chuck Jackson - Any Day Now

This is for my bro, who's going through some shit atm but I wanna let'm know I support his decisions and am really enjoying the time I've had taking care of my niece and nephew.

 

Hi-C feat. D.J. Quik - Let Me Know

Miss ya CLW,

JMW

Bout time

So this bounce bounce thing is fuckin fire, or maybe i'm just thinking about going gospel..

It's not that I don't fear the reaper, itz ma paw paw that i gotta keep'm in my heart...
THe heat down here. i really think. is fucking with. my cool..

So i chill out the way my bro and me have always done, cep now most friends done left H_town
and shit's so thick its a heady mollassass flavor, HATE TOWN, they cuzz
kinda lonely on the internet tonight.

aside from all that i ripped this for jiri awhile back, and it came out pretty luby's like craptrolla likedidy like likes
...still can't believe french house made a come back already, but goes to show how much i go out.
But then i hear about that scene from (the aforementioned folks) a scene i used to trollio, , so I pass on the back stabbery and blow.

I'm nursing my southern comfort now
tkr_slzy
haha

-you know the 1

p.s.
here's what wikipedia says about it
"
[snip]
Bounce coverage is also making its way into journalism. Nik Cohn's Triksta: Life and Death and New Orleans Rap reports on the author's own involvement with this genre, one certainly complicated by his own simultaneous obsession and distaste for the music."

ironic.

Envelopes of Awareness 2007

Sure, classictrax is rarified like that, but I wanna let yall know cuz we love to live life first, take communication to a level of whole-hearted appreciation, let ya know that at classictrax there are artforms that reflect not only the time of the recordings but their relevance to us today.

It's late, you know how it goes
down south, drama is the heat itself
i try to ignore the simmerin molassas
of these endless nights
catch waves
find your voice

Gary Taylor - Flirting With An Angel

-jmw

p.s. your on the internet do your own h/w, and get famous like DP :P

shout out to Jarno&PRoutcast
extra special thanks to "Dark in Arkansas"

Another jazzy sunday

Lately I find myself much more enjoying my weekends just staying at home and taking it easy after a busy week. Spending the sunday listening to jazz records all day with some fine wine instead of trying to recover from some hangover. Am I getting old?


John Coltrane - Aisha

So far today I've listened to Miles Davis' excellent Sketches Of Spain album, but I can't really do that album any justice by just posting one track of it. Therefore I'll post some other tracks I've been enjoying today, like this Coltrane ballad of the Olé Coltrane album. This track reminds me of the classic Naima from the Giant Steps album (might be the title). For a beautiful live version of Naima, check this:


And while you're at it, why not take a look at this delightful version of So What? (I can't even imagine what the internet would be without youtube anymore!)




Now for some Sun Ra. Although he is known for pretty 'out there' music, even plain unlistenable to some, in the late seventies and early eighties he went for a more accesible sound. The records from this period still have his loose style all over it, but it can serve as a good introduction to his work and they're just beautiful pieces of music in general. I picked three tracks from this period that are near impossible to find on vinyl I think, but luckily there's the internet :)

Sun Ra - Nuclear War

First is a song Sun Ra intented to be a single, but no major label wanted to release it (kinda obvious, imagine this hitting the charts in the 80's!), so he put it out on a small label. A protest song of sorts, with a fine groove that's kinda hypnotizing, like most Ra records.

Sun Ra - God Is More Than Love Can Ever Be

Second is the title track of the God Is More Than Love Can Ever Be album, highlighting Ra's piano playing. A very calm record that still has a lot going on.

Sun Ra - Springtime Again

Finally there's one of the more well known songs from this period (though still pretty unknown to most I guess) called Springtime Again. It's a beautiful composition that captures the feeling of waking up early and enjoying a spring morning.


Archie Shepp - Ballad For A Child

The next song I chose is from one of my favorite albums Attica Blues by Archie Shepp. I could really pick any random song from this lp, there's not a bad track on this highly diverse record.


John Coltrane - Psalm

To finish this post, more Coltrane! The closing track of the Love Supreme album called Psalm, which seems fitting for a sunday, as does the rest of the album, as well as Pharoah Sanders' Karma album, which I posted a track off earlier this year. Listening to these records is like going to church for me, a spiritual experience.

"“During the year 1957,” John Coltrane famously wrote, “I experienced, by the grace of God, a spiritual awakening which was to lead me to a richer, fuller, more productive life. At that time, in gratitude, I humbly asked to be given the means and privilege to make others happy through music. I feel this has been granted through His grace.”

The incident sparking Coltrane's awakening was severe and self-inflicted. It was late April of 1957, 10 years before he would die of liver cancer, and the saxophonist's raging heroin addiction had finally provoked a pink slip from a recently sobered Miles Davis (also fired was fellow Philadelphian and junkie Philly Joe Jones; Davis replaced him and Coltrane with Art Taylor and Sonny Rollins respectively). And so a chastened Trane returned to his hometown, locked himself in a room of his mother's house, and fasted until his poisons had run their course. As some accounts have it, the saxophonist saw the image of God during this excruciating exile; according to legend he emerged from his sick room, like Moses from Mount Sinai, a boldly transfigured man."

(....)

"Spiritually, however, the album is an ecstatic public dedication. "I think you have to be aware of the religious meaning of that piece," averred Lewis Porter in the radio documentary Tell Me How Long Trane's Been Gone. "Because a lot of the way that piece is structured has to do with the religious message he wants to convey." Porter, whose biography John Coltrane: His Life and Music (University of Michigan Press) stands as the finest to date, alludes specifically to "Psalm," the suite's final movement -- a musical rendering of a poem penned by the saxophonist. (Impulse! published this poem on the gatefold of the LP, but the literal connection between verse and music went largely unnoticed for years.)

But with each revelation comes the threat of reckoning. Pianist Bobby Timmons once described a conversation he had with Coltrane's mother: "I remember her telling me about A Love Supreme and how she was wishing he'd never written it. ... She was worried to death because she said, "When someone is seeing God, that means he's going to die." (In fact, he did, less than three years later, of sudden liver failure owing to earlier abuses.) This may account for the fact that, when "reading" his poem through the tenor, Coltrane notably skipped the phrase "I have seen God." It may or may not have anything to do with the fact that the saxophonist never performed his devotional poem again. In the only known live performance of A Love Supreme, at the 1965 Juan-les-Pins Festival in Antibes, "Psalm" is rendered not as a meticulous syllabic translation but as a vehicle for beseeching improvisation. (This concert, along with alternate studio takes featuring Art Davis and Archie Shepp, appears on Impulse's new CD release.) By that time, Coltrane had moved to another place and plane. Some, but by no means all, would say his ascension had begun -- into heaven, transcendence, or perhaps something as simple as truth."

source

Again, it might be better to hear a track like this in the context of the full album, so I highly reccomend getting the record. I truly believe though that Coltrane was alredy ascending into heaven and connecting with God on a higher level at the time of this recording, take what you want from it though. Here's the poem the song was based on, feel free to read along:

A Love Supreme
I will do all I can to be worthy of Thee, O Lord.
It all has to do with it.
Thank You God.
Peace.
There is none other.
God is. It is so beautiful.
Thank You God. God is all.
Help us to resolve our fears and weaknesses.
In you all things are possible.
Thank you God.
We know. God made us so.
Keep your eye on God.
God is. He always was. He always will be.
No matter what... it is God.
He is gracious and merciful.
It is most important that I know Thee.
Words, sounds, speech, men, memory, throughts,
fears and emotions--time--all related...
all made from one... all made in one.
Blessed be his name.
Thought waves--heat waves--all vibrations--
all paths lead to God. Thank you God.
His way... it is so lovely... it is gracious.
It is merciful--Thank you God.
One thought can produce millions of vibrations
and they all go back to God... everything does.
Thank you God.
Have no fear... believe... Thank you God.
The universe has many wonders. God is all.
His way... it is so wonderful.
Thoughts--deeds--vibrations,
all go back to God and He cleanses all.
He is gracious and merciful... Thank you God.
Glory to God... God is so alive.
God is.
God loves.
May I be acceptable in Thy sight.
We are all one in His grace.
The fact that we do exist is acknowledgement
of Thee, O Lord.
Thank you God.
God will wash away all our tears...
He always has...
He always will.
Seek him everyday. In all ways seek God everyday.
Let us sing all songs to God.
To whom all praise is due... praise God.
No road is an easy one, but they all
go back to God.
With all we share God.
It is all with God.
It is all with Thee.
Obey the Lord.
Blessed is He.
We were all from one thing... the will of God...
Thank you God.
--I have seen ungodly--
none can be greater--none can compare
Thank you God.
He will remake... He always has and He
always will.
It's true--blessed be His name--Thank you God.
God breathes through us so completely...
so gently we hardly feel it... yet,
it is our everything.
Thank you God.
ELATION--ELEGANCE--EXALTATION--
All from God.
Thank you God. Amen.
-John Coltrane (December, 1964)

peace,
Jarno

Good Will Hunting

No, not that movie from the 90's that I never even seen (I'm sure you probobly did'nt either). I'm talking about those thrift stores all around town that sell vinyl for $1 a pop. Like Jarno, I go vinyl trippin' every once in a while too. Some old head turns in there stack of vinyls to the local Good Will to get a tax right-off, only to end up in my hands on the cheap. Now, you know me, I'm a succer for those samples. So when I get home with a stack, not having a clue what I purchased except the cover looked phat and I recognized the artist name, I put the music on and THEN BOOM, sample slain. Thus giving me an excuse to post to you my good friends. All in the name of classictrax!


Roy Ayers - Let's Do It

Note: THIS IS NOT A GREAT 12" RIP BY ME. I NEED A BETTER VERSION.
Wow, Roy knows how to set the mood for love makin', sexual healin', and all around freak a deak zone vibe'n. Right off the LP with the same name, Roy brings some great tunes on this 12" from 1978. Check out Gant Garrads track of the same name that takes major slices from Roy's track, but still makes it a great house tune with that Chicago flare. From his "Unpredictable EP" on Dust Traxx.

Gant Garrard - Let's Do It
*************************************************
*************************************************

The Stylistics - Maybe It's Love This Time

I had put this record on and started doing some other things. "Hurry Up This Way Again" is a softer LP. So by the time I got to this track I was in chill mode, almost nodding off in my chair. That is until I heard the chorus go "MAYBE......MAYBE IT"S LOVE THIS TIME". I jumped out my seat like Spiderman and yelled "OH SNAP, THATS THAT DILLA JOINT". If you havnt heard " The Shinning" yet check it out. I aint' Parris Hilton but that I gotta say that joint is HOT! R.I.P Jay D.

J Dilla - Baby
***********************************************
***********************************************


I hope you enjoy these joints. I hope to do another 2 post before the end of the year. 1000FM & Jimbo, yall' think you can get one more in before 07? :-D Please leave a comment folks.

Later,
Proutcast

Vinyl Trip

So I just finished watching the movie Vinyl by Alan Zweig. Basically a documentary about obsessive record collectors. I wouldn't go so far as to call myself an obsessive collector, then again, that's what pretty much every guy in this documentary says. However, I do find myself spending way too much cash on records, most of them I don't even play that much. Anyway, if you're a record collector I recommend watching this movie, even though it's kind of depressing to see some of these guys. It makes you rethink this whole record collecting habit a little.


Gloria Scott - What Am I Gonna Do

On to the music now. Lately I've been on a little Barry White trip, finally discovering a larger part of his catalogue than just the hit records. That's how I stumbled upon this Barry White produced Gloria Scott album from 1974 called What Am I Gonna Do. The opening title track immediately grabbed my attention and I've been enjoying the entire album pretty much. A nice mix of ballads and uptempo songs, with beautiful instrumental backing.

edit:
aw hell, as long as I'm here I might as well upload some more stuff I'm into lately.


Leon Thomas - China Doll

First up is this version of China Doll by Leon Thomas, who is the singer on Pharoah Sanders' stellar song The Creator Has A Master Plan. Well he released an excellent solo album as well called Blues And The Soulful Truth (that also has a great front cover) that contains this track.


Lenny Williams - Cause I Love You

This is the opening track of Tower Of Power singer Lenny William´s album Spark Of Love from 1978. Not much to say about it, except that it´s a beautiful soulful track with excellent vocal delivery.


Bernard Purdie - Lialeh

And to close this post for real, a nice laidback song by Bernard Purdie from the soundtrack for Lialeh, a seventies soft porn movie. But it´s certainly not some over the top smooth porn soundtrack sh**, just quality soul music!

oh yeah, a big shout out to prout for hooking me up with those records, cause I didn´t have nearly enough records as it is :P

peace,
Jarno

Player Haters Degree

A good friend of mine recently departed dirty H-town after getting his player haters degree, j/k :P, but he's back home to Lyon, Fr and sent me this funk nastification of a mix that I thought amongst this inner circle would really appreciate.

Tracklisting:
trouble funk - hey fellas (red snapper mix)
kurtis blow - tough
tom tom club - genious of love
projections - stillness meets me
omega watts - that sound (quantic mix)
treva whateva - dustbowl
carol wiliams - can't get enough
chateau flight - superflight (maurice fulton mix)
bah samba - let the drums speak
gwen mcrae - funky sensation (MAW mix)
chic - (funny) bone

dj francesco septembre mix

enjoy,
-infinite_jim

So Busy, Longing To Be Bored

George Benson - Livin' Inside Your Love

I hate being busy. Every Day of every minute I spend doing "something". Work, church, repairing the house, fixing up the cars, blah blah blah. Even "having fun" has become an item on a schedule. I wish I could go back to those days when I had few thing I "HAD To Do" and do alot of things I "Wanted To Do". Hence the reason I don't really post so much. But, enough of that....

Anyway, I spotted a sample that made me smile and I had to share it with someone. George Bensen never fails me.

Hmmm, I feel like I should write some more. Heh. Well, I almost completed my Crydamoure collection. I should be picking up some Archigram records soon. And I still need that Hysteria 12". Now it's on to Gopher & EDC records. I just got Use Me and Prix Choc in the mail. Loving them. The hunt for vinyl continues.

Oh, and enjoy the house track if you dont already have it.


Deaf N' Dumb Crew - Holiday On Night

" I am so busy doing nothing... that the idea of doing anything - which as you know, always leads to something - cuts into the nothing and then forces me to have to drop everything."
Jerry Seinfeld

Jazzy Disco

Roy Ayers & Fela Kuti - 2000 Blacks Got To Be Free

Alright, like I said, some more jazz coming up, well this right here isn't really jazz in it's purest form, but I guess it kinda makes sense. After I started of with some 50's bebop and 60's freejazz, Prout took it to the 70's with some smooth souljazz. And now I'm taking it to the 80's with this briliant 1980 collabo between 2 genius musicians, Roy Ayers and Fela Kuti.

Y'all probably know of Roy Ayers, so not really any need to introduce him I guess. Most of y'all will know Fela Kuti as well I suppose, but if you don't, start getting all his records (start with Expensive Shit, featuring the briliant 'Water No Get Enemy'). Fela Kuti merged African rhythms and American soul influences into his own style. On this record, there's 2 extended jams, both of them don't get boring for one second, they could have even gone on for much longer. The record is available as a re-issue, so it shouldn't be that hard to find on vinyl, I know I got my copy. If only more house dj's would throw records like this into their sets....


J Dilla ft. Common & D'Angelo - So Far So Good

Oh and on a little side note, the man who once worked on a cover of Fela's 'Water No Get Enemy' has finally returned, D'Angelo. He appears on a track of Dilla's upcoming album on BBE Records. Okay it's not much yet, but it gives a little hope that that third album is finally coming up, let's hope so! Here's the mp3, unfortunately it's from a promo, so there's some annoying snippets from the movie The Shining thrown in, so I guess we'll have to wait for the release for a good version, but this works for now.


greets
Jarno

Jazzy Snazzy

1000 Finger Man got us started in the Jazz direction . I hope he will bless us with another deep post about his discoveries of bissful jazz sounds. In the meantime, in between time, I thought I would share some of the records I found for $1 at the local thrift store today.


Idris Muhammad ft. Grover Washington - Piece Of Mind

First up is Idris Muhammad's Power Of Soul. Arranged by Bob James and featuring a bunch of other "smooth jazz" names from 1974. Good stuff here. Piece Of Mind has that slow flow, that night driving mood. Give it a listen. On a sample note; me and 1000 Finger Man were checking out another Idris Muhammad track called Could Heaven Ever Be Like This, when we heard the Stars On 33 track that got remixed recently by Mr. Alan Braxe.


Bob James - Caribbean Nights

I also found this Bob James - Touchdown Record for $1. It has 6 trax that feature Bob James, Hubert Laws, Idris Muhammad, Ron Carter, and more. It also has an awesome fold out NFL football sleeve. You hip hop heads may recognize the Red Man sample. Beautiful song.


Also, I just want to give a real big shout out to my brother from France. ILOVAIR. This guy has never met me in person in his life, yet was kind enough in his heart to bless me with some records. He went to the trouble of ordering them from the 20000st website, waited 2 months, thougth he got shafted, sent an email threatening to call the cops, finally got them, then sent them to me. What a blessing. God bless you brotha. The loot includes:
1.Demon - Regulate
2. Saturday Nite - Live Celebrity
3. Nicholas - Wanderungen
4. Nicholas - Haberdasher
5. Altered Beast - The Coney Island
6. 20000st slip mat.
ILOVAIR, big, big shout to you. Much love. Many thanks.

I also picked up some other things this week.
1. Shalamar - Uptown Festival - For $1, not bad.
2. L.K.C - Soul Bells - Grab it on www.juno.co.uk quick!!!
3. Braxe & Falke - Palladium - It's Vulture Culture.
4. Funk Legacy - What U Gonna Do Baby - Nice.

Proutcast

I Love The Jazz My Man!

If there's one genre I've been obsessing about these past 2 years it's been jazz. As with some other people from my generation, I came into contact with jazz when I started looking after the source for my favourite modern day records. In this case I was on the hunt for the sample to the Motorbass classic 'Neptune'. After searching for the lyrics 'have you heard the latest news from Neptune?' I came across the very obscure source, Sun Ra's album Discipline 27-11 and the aptly titled track 'Neptune'.

Granted, an avant garde album by Sun Ra from one of his more experimental periods is probably not as good a way of coming into contact with jazz as Kind Of Blue for instance. However, I would get into this song heavily pretty much right away and right there my journey through the genre took off.

By now there's dozens and dozens of tracks I could post up to express my love for the genre, but for now I'll stick to 3 tracks.


Roy Haynes - Dorian

The part of the genre I'm into the most are probably the 50's/60's bop records. Just one of the many fine examples of the beauty of this genre is the following track by the talented drummer Roy Haynes. The beautiful piano playing of Ronnie Matthews just carries the song right away and every bit that gets added just suits the mood perfectly, Booker Ervin's playing on this album is just beautiful as well. It's kinda hard for me to describe exactly how this moves me, but it's just touching in every single way and this is music I could listen to for the rest of my life. There are so many more songs in this genre I could recommend, if you're interested just hit me up with a message and I'll be happy to send some more.


Pharoah Sanders - The Creator Has A Master Plan

Next up is some more experimental jazz by one of my personal favourite artists, Pharoah Sanders. I've had my eye on this record in a local second hand store for a long time, but the guy selling it wants quite a bit of cash for it so for now I'll have to do with this (not so great) mp3 rip. Oh well, it'll give you a proper impression of the album. I'm not gonna attempt to write out a full review when there's already a fitting one on the allmusic.com website. However, I will say that this is probably a fairly accesible lp in the free jazz genre, it kinda shifts back and forth between wild explosions of sound and melody and more calm arrangements. Another example of a track that does this is 'Theme De Yoyo' by the Art Ensemble Of Chicago (though the wild arrangements are very limited there, it may be a better introduction to free-jazz), go check that out if you don't know about it yet, highly reccomended. I also like the spirituality and Coltrane inpsirations involved in the entire theme of this Pharoah Sanders album, it truly is a journey to listen to this record and one of the highlights of Sanders' carreer. If you're interested, here is the excellent review of the Karma album from the allmusic website:


"Pharoah Sanders' third album as a leader is the one that defines him as a musician to the present day. After the death of Coltrane, while there were many seeking to make a spiritual music that encompassed his ideas and yearnings while moving forward, no one came up with the goods until Sanders on this 1969 date. There are only two tracks on Karma, the 32-plus minute "The Creator Has a Master Plan" and the five-and-a-half-minute "Colours." The band is one of Sanders' finest, and features vocalist Leon Thomas, drummer Billy Hart, Julius Watkins, James Spaulding, a pre-funk Lonnie Liston Smith, Richard Davis, Reggie Workman on bass, and Nathaniel Bettis on percussion. "Creator" begins with a quote from "A Love Supreme," with a nod to Coltrane's continuing influence on Sanders. But something else emerges here as well: Sanders' own deep commitment to lyricism and his now inherent knowledge of Eastern breathing and modal techniques. His ability to use the ostinato became not a way of holding a tune in place while people soloed, but a manner of pushing it irrepressibly forward. Keeping his range limited (for the first eight minutes anyway), Sanders explores all the colors around the key figures, gradually building the dynamics as the band comps the two-chord theme behind with varying degrees of timbral invention. When Thomas enters at nine minutes, the track begins to open. His yodel frees up the theme and the rhythm section to invent around him. At 18 minutes it explodes, rushing into a silence that is profound as it is noisy in its approach. Sanders is playing microphonics and blowing to the heavens and Thomas is screaming. They are leaving the material world entirely. When they arrive at the next plane, free of modal and interval constraints, a new kind of lyricism emerges, one not dependent on time but rhythm, and Thomas and Sanders are but two improvisers in a sound universe of world rhythm and dimension. There is nothing to describe the exhilaration that is felt when this tune ends, except that "Colours," with Ron Carter joining Workman on the bass, was the only track that could follow it. You cannot believe it until you hear it."


Walter Bishop Jr - Speak Low

In closing here's a song by Walter Bishop Jr, who released some fine music on the legendary Black Jazz label (I especially like the track 'Our November' on the Coral Keys album, see if you can find that, you can also hear it on the flash intro on the Black Jazz website). Here he is featured with a more recent recording of one of his older songs that has his piano playing joined with the bass of Paul Brown and drums by Al Harewood, to briliant effect. Sometimes when I listen to solo piano records or records like this with the piano on the forefront I can get the feeling it's just background music or displays of virtuousity, but Walter really makes the music come alive on this record. It's a joy to listen to and always puts me in a good mood.

Now of course I can't guarantee that you'll dig these songs, but maybe it'll give a little insight to my favourite genre and why I love it so much. By no means am I an expert on the subject of jazz, but all I know is that I can't get enough of this music. In the future I might do some more jazz posts, so be on the lookout for that if you dig what you heard here.

greets,
Jarno

You Can Win

J Dilla - Two Can Win (Extended Edit)
I had been saving some cash while looking for the CD which was out of stock for a little while. Thanks to Dafunkad who hooked me up with some previews, and now I can enjoy the full album. My only beef is that each track is too short [but Cool Edit Pro can fix that :-D ]. Otherwise, the album to me is like The Avalanches meets Detroit Beets in a continuous music mix. Enjoy my silly little edit.