The Hives & The Chats @ History, March 22 & 23

The hi-octane Hives and the un-hinged Chats should make for a ridiculously rippin' double bill at History this weekend! 

Get tickets for The Hives & The Chats show at History in Toronto on Monday right here.  

Watch Toody Cole and her band tear it up in Melbourne, Australia

Dead Moon's Toody Cole is still rockin' out on a nightly basis with her band as this PBS-FM's Studio 5 Live performance shows. 

Remembering Canadian composer/pianist/arranger Buster Harding on his birthday

Remembering Ontario-born Buster Harding who's songs and arrangements cut during the swing to bop era should be better known.

Canadian Ambassadors

Born in North Buxton (near Windsor), Ontario in 1912, Lavere "Buster" Harding grew up in Cleveland, Ohio took up piano early on and formed his first band as a teenager. Sometime after his return to Canada in 1932, he joined Myron "Mynie" Sutton's Canadian Ambassadors, considered to be the first all-black dance orchestra in Canada. 

Incidentally, the Canadian Ambassadors briefly included Harding's fellow North Buxtonite, pianist Lou Hooper who had similarly been raised outside of Canada in Ypsilanti, Michigan, studied at the Detroit Conservatory and had performed/recorded through the 20s with banjo player Elmer Snowden and clarinetist Bob Fuller under various handles like The Three Jolly Miners and The Three Monkey Chasers in Harlem before becoming the in-house pianist for Ajax Records and accompanying blues singers Lizzie Miles, Ethel Waters, Ma Rainey, Mamie Smith and others. As a music teacher in Montreal, Hooper taught the young Oscar Peterson – but back to Buster. 

In 1939, Harding took a job as a writer/arranger for popular bandleader Teddy Wilson where he created the blaring percussion-heavy whumper "Booly Ja Ja" very atypical of the sedate swing of the urbane pianist. Listen to "Booly Ja Ja" below. It's hard to believe something this crazy was recorded and released in 1939...  I can't think of any of any other jazz recording from that time that's nearly as explosive. The only orchestra that could come close to matching that intensity was Cab Calloway's band. And after Harding did a bit of writing and arranging for Coleman Hawkins, that's exactly where he went. In the flamboyant Calloway, Harding found a like-minded musical conspirator with a blasting horn section being driven by a suitably propulsive rhythm engine. Watch a Cab Calloway soundie for Harding's "Virginia, Georgia and Caroline" from 1942 temporarily available right here. After a productive few years (1944-46) with the hugely popular Calloway orchestra – co-writing  "We The Cats Shall Hep Ya," "I Want To Rock," "Tappin' Off," "The Hi De Ho Man (That's Me)" and many more – Harding began taking on freelance writing/arranging work for Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw ("Little Jazz," "Bedford Drive"), Jonah Jones ("B.H. Boogie," "Lust For Licks"), Count Basie ("The Mad Boogie," "Rails," "Hob-Nail Boogie") and Roy Eldridge ("Yard Dog," "Poor John," "Little Jazz Boogie"). 

In 1949, Harding was hired by Billie Holiday as her musical director for a Decca session which resulted in the recordings "Ain't Nobody's Business If I Do" and "Baby, Get Lost"  as well as some compositional collaborations with Holiday on a few songs – including "Please Don't Do It In Here" and "You'd Do It Anyway." He continued working as Holiday's pianist on live dates through the early 50s although he soon took up with Dizzy Gillespie and the two worked closely together for the next few years before Harding connected with keybordist/bandleader Bill Doggett through the later 50s and early 60s, penning "Hometown Shout," "Birdie," "Blues For Handy." "High and Wide," "Bill Dogs It" during his stint. Among the last credited recording appearance of Harding is a 1963 budget-line Bossa Nova cash-in set for Pickwick involving drummer Osie Johnson, flautist/saxophonist Sam Most, bassist Jimmy Jones and trumpeter Louis Metcalf. Two years later, Harding passed away in New York at the age of 53. 

Perhaps due in part to the fact that Harding never released a recording under his own name and rarely had his photo taken with his more famous collaborators (other than the Jet Magazine snapshot with Dizzy Gillespie at Dizzy's home in Corona, Long Island from 1955), he is largely a forgotten figure today. 

Sadly, Harding's important writing and arranging contributions to jazz music during the transition from swing to bop have been largely overlooked, rarely even rating a mention in most attempts to document the era. Many self-styled jazz authorities remain blissfully unaware of Harding's accomplishments today. A much deeper study of Harding's life and work, along with a retrospective collection of his songs and arrangements recorded by more popular figures, is long overdue. For the moment, here's just a small sampling of Buster Harding's musical legacy.  

First Takes: Frankie Lee Sims

Frankie Lee Sims' "Married Woman" – covered by the Flamin' Groovies – had an earlier incarnation as "Single Man Blues" in '48.

Hieroglyphics hip hop crew w/ Del, Souls of Mischief, Casual, Domino @ Opera House, Wednesday

Here's a rare chance to see Oaktown's finest – Del the Funky Homosapien, Souls Of Mischief, Casual, Domino & Pep Love – together! Get tickets right here. 

Happy 75th Birthday Bill Frisell!

Celebrating guitarist Bill Frisell's 75th birthday with a timely performance of a Duke Ellington/Billy Strayhorn classic and more. 

Jon Lucien's "Search For The Inner Self" sessions from 1969 released by Kent/Ace

Championed by Paul Weller and Snowboy, Jon Lucien's 1969 recording session is being released as "Search For The Inner Self."   

Here's the scoop from Mark "Snowboy" Cotgrove...

"This work of beauty is finally out after nearly 60 years.

"I was fortunate to have played a series of concerts at the Jazz Café with the incredible Jon Lucien in 1995. I could hardly believe my luck. There’s no bigger fan of Jon than me. Along with his manager and the famous drummer, Kim Plainfield, was Jon’s wonderful wife, Delesa. We bonded immediately.  And with Jon, Kim and Nik Cohen on bass we had 3 or 4 incredible days playing music. I still have a fantastic recording of one of those shows.

"That week Jon gave me an unreleased album on cassette from 1969 and asked if I could try and get it released somehow. It was a beautiful folky kind of album, quite unlike his later albums, but typical of his early singles. However there was a potentially huge Soul bomb on there called ‘We Got Love’ of which I immediately cut on to acetate and played out everywhere these past 31 years (an anthem at my beloved ‘Good Foot’ residency). As promised, I tried all the Soul labels in the UK but to no interest.

"The next time I saw Jon a year or two later out of frustration he’d manufactured 100 himself on CD to sell at gigs.

"Anyway, I remained friends with Jon and Delesa until we lost them both. They were both wonderful, kind, warm and genuine people and I’m so proud to have known them.

"Funnily enough Jon told me once that he used to always take my current cd then to any house parties they went to, to get the party going! What a sweet thing to do.

"Here we are 31 years later and this beautiful album is finally out. I had considered releasing it myself in the past, but at last it’s found it’s perfect home now on the right label, ACE.

"Well done to Ady Croasdell and team on such an incredible job."

Jon Lucien – Search For The Inner Self

Jon Lucien’s ‘Search For The Inner Self’ was one of the highlights of Paul Weller’s recently complied Ace CD “That Sweet, Sweet Music”. When also issuing it as a single, we included ‘We Got Love’, a track from his self-financed CD “Precious Is Love”, which proved to be as feted a choice as the top side. 

Due to this and further encouragement from soul fans, DJs and the Lucien family, we licensed the rest of the Beau Ray Fleming produced 1969 recordings for LP and CD reissue. Here is the very start of Lucien’s songwriting creativity − ‘Precious Is My Love’, ‘A Heart In Love’, ‘Flower Garden’ and ‘The Season Of Spring’ are accomplished and captivating creations, equal to his later much-admired work.

The choice of cover songs was inspired. ‘Strawberries Don't Know Cherries’ was an unknown song that had yet to be covered, the reading of Barry and Robin Gibb’s ‘To Love Somebody’ is exemplary and the out-of-left-field ‘Only An Illusion’ is a number perfect for Lucien’s mystical approach to soul. Producer Fleming contributed ‘It’s Bigger Than I’ the previously undigitized flip to the ‘Search For The Inner Self’ 45, as well as the catchy dancer ‘We Got Love’, that DJ Snowboy has championed for years.

When Jon Lucien released the original CD in 1999, he only made about 100 copies; demand has rocketed for it ever since. It was never on vinyl originally. We have commissioned sleeve notes from acclaimed US scribe Kevin Goins to enhance the packaging of both formats. 

Get a copy of Jon Lucien's "Search For The Inner Self" album via Ace Records UK right here. Listen to the title track "Search For The Inner Self" and "We Got Love" below.