Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Chicago Underground Duo @ The Garrison Thursday

Rob Mazurek and Chad Taylor will be presenting new work from their boldly eclectic Locus album.
Locus is the seventh album by the Chicago Underground Duo (Rob Mazurek and Chad Taylor), following their acclaimed Northern Spy label release Age of Energy in 2012. Bits of breakbeat and Afropop are heard within the jazz, ambient and electronica elements of their unmistakable grooves captured by engineer John McEntire. Also in the mix is a Ghanian folk tune and Ennio Morricone played on cornet, drums, mbira, ballophone, bamboo flute and Game Boy.

The pairing came out of the Chicago Underground Orchestra founded by Mazurek almost 20 years ago during a series of weekly workshops at the famed Chicago nightclub Green Mill Cocktail Lounge. The Orchestra morphed into the Chicago Underground Duo, Trio and Quartet as situations demanded, and while the orchestra has counted among its members such jazz greats as Sun Ra drummer Robert Barry and the late bassist Fred Hopkins of Air, the younger wunderkind Taylor has been the only other consistent member of the Underground bands.

The duo remains core to most everything the uncompromising Mazurek takes on. With Taylor (championed timekeeper behind Marc Ribot’s Spiritual Unity Trio and projects with Peter Brötzmann, Ken Vandermark and many others), Mazurek has crafted an ever expanding sound, based in elements of jazz, techno, film music. The nine tracks on Locus find the tireless Duo exploring, as always, new sounds and new combinations. Preview the Locus album right here.


Watch Archie Bronson Outfit's We Are Floating clip

Arhcie Bronson Outfit's rockin' new Wild Crush album is out on Domino May 19. 

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Neil Young vs. Bert Jansch

Neil covers Bert Jansch's heavy Needle Of Death on his fuss-free new album A Letter Home.



Happy Birthday Hasil Adkins

Remembering the late great Hasil Adkins on his day with the hunch-o-matic Get Out Of My Car.

Watch The Precious Lo's "Right Time For Us" clip

Nik Timar and Gil Masuda of Circle Research infamy strike back with another electro-soul swinger. 


Protomartyr vs. The Stooges

Former Tyvek merch man Joe Casey (right) and pals have a go at The Stooges' Down On The Street. 


Monday, April 28, 2014

Whaddya Mean You Don't Know The Monorays





Happy Birthday Blossom Dearie

Late great jazz chanteuse Blossom Dearie also voiced a few classic Schoolhouse Rock! faves. 



Before They Were Famous: Laura Lee

Watch the Meditation Singers featuring a young Laura Lee in two thrilling TV performances.



Here's Laura Lee's singing cameo in the 1973 film Detroit 9000...


Sunday, April 27, 2014

Radio Birdman @ Marryatville Hotel, 1977

Radio Birdman play four faves intercut with interview footage at Adelaide's Marryatville Hotel.

Les Surfs vs. Paul Anka

Check out Les Surfs' swingin' cover of Paul Anka's Uh Huh followed by the original.


Friday, April 25, 2014

Before They Were Famous: Peter Zaremba

Here's The Fleshtones' frontman Peter Zaremba looking moddish as a teenager in 1971.

"Ah, where to begin? Pictured here, me, Peter Zaremba of The Fleshtones, with Susan Sterling and Dennis and Ritchie DiAmato in imaginary album cover shot early 1971 by Sue's mom Sonny. Since the stylish brown Reynard 3-button job with modest lapels I'm wearing is my graduation suit (grammer, not high school!), I reckon the family purchased it in 1968 at Alexander's Rego Park, although I can't rule out Gertz Of Long Island or Sy Sim's."

Peter's vintage Reynard suit pictured above is currently up for auction which you can bid on right here.


Happy Birthday Willis Jackson!

Remembering the late great "Gator Tail" with his classic Nuther'n Like Thuther'n from 1964.

One For The Weekend: De Lux

"A Stranger Love" by Classixx gets the De Lux disco-not-disco treatment out May 6 on Innovative Leisure.

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Happy Birthday Joe Henderson!

Remembering Joe Henderson with some Alice Coltrane-stoked heat off The Elements.



Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Jus Reign vs. Drake

Toronto's Jus Reign offers a different take on Drake's Worst Behaviour clip.



Catl's "This Shakin' House" release party @ The Horseshoe, Thursday

Be sure to grab a Catl's This Shakin' House album on vinyl and a swank Ikea Monkey pin.

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Before They Were Famous: Danko Jones

Years before selfies with Gene Simmons, "Chick Dupree" did a Rusty video with Floria Sigismondi.

Danko Jones will make an appearance singing with Dwayne Gretzky at the Phoenix Friday night.

Nightseeker @ Hard Luck, April 25

FUBAR's Deaner aka Paul Spence returns to Toronto with Nightseeker April 25.

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Watch Link Wray @ Winterland in 1974






Questlove @ Tattoo, Thursday

Spend two hours with Questlove in casual conversation then see him take the Nardwuar challenge.



Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Hear "Sunset Strip" by Six Moons Later

Ana Haverstock & Matt McLaughlin issued only 330 copies of their new single so get it quick.


LINKS
FB page
bandcamp page
vote for Six Moons Later in the CBC's Searchlight contest

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Saturday, April 12, 2014

Lie Witness News: Fake Drake

Drake asks "How do you feel about Drake..." 

Thursday, April 10, 2014

Hear Blood Ceremony's flutastic new single

Blood Ceremony's Let It Come Down single is backed with a cover of Iron Claw's Loving You!



Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Minus 5 to issue five-LP box for Record Store Day

Entitled "Scott The Hoople In The Dungeon Of Horror", the M5 box set will be limited to just 750 copies! 

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

The day Bruce Haack came to Mr. Rogers' neighborhood

Here's a clip of the surreal meeting of Canuck electronic music innovator Bruce Haack and Mr. Rogers in '68.


Watch the 2004 Bruce Haack documentary, Haack: King of Techno right here

Saturday, April 5, 2014

Analog Africa readies Mestre Cupijó retrospective


Cametá, a historical little Amazonian town on the shores of the river Tocantins, is the birthplace of the scorching music known as “Siriá”; a cross pollination between the music of the inhabitants of the quilombos, a Brazilian hinterland settlement founded by escaped slaves of African origins, and the indigenous people of the Amazon rainforest. It is a breathing, pulsing, emphatic beat, and the modernised version of this local music, created by Mestre Cupijó, has been igniting street parties and traditional festivals across the state of Pará in Northern Brazil for decades. With the Analog Africa release of the Mestre Cupijó e Seu Ritmo retrospective Siriá on May 27th, the combustible sound of Siriá will be celebrated internationally as the feverish, tropical sound of the summer of 2014!

Foretelling his talent to flow between cultures, Cupijó was named after a local river when he was born in 1936, into a family of musicians. His father, Mestre Vicente Castro, was also known as Mestre Sicudera, the musical director of Centennial Euterpe, one of Brazil's oldest bands, founded in 1874.
At 12, Cupijó started to play the clarinet. He also became proficient at the piano, mandolin and guitar, although the instrument that came to personify his sound was the alto saxophone. Waltz, bolero, cha cha cha and an assortment of dance hall music became part of Cupijó's repertoire, but it was Carimbó and Siriá, the music played by the black communities of Pará, that had the strongest impact on the young musician.

To grasp the soul of this music, Cupijó went to its source and lived with the quilombolas (maroon) community of the Amazon. Upon his return, enriched by this life-changing experience, he founded the band Jazz Orquestra os Azes do Ritmo with the goal of reinventing Siriá and modernising Samba de Cacete, Banguê and other folkloric music of the state of Pará. Airwaves from the Caribbean and Latin America had also brought the cumbia sound of the mighty Colombian orchestras, Merengue from the Dominican republic and Cuban music to the Amazon, all of which had an impact on the music of Northern Brazil, Mambo especially! Mestre Cupijó took these influences and mixed them in with the ingredients he had studied in the Quilombos. That fusion had explosive results.

His fresh new sound became the soundtrack to Cametá's legendary Carnival and soon his troupe were invited to other festivals along the river. Transportation to these concerts was via small boats, where three or four musicians would share a vessel with their instruments tucked between their legs. In those days there were no posters or radio adverts to promote the shows in any way, yet Cupijó’s shows became notorious. In an interview one of his band members explains: "Whenever there was a party – on a Saturday for example – and it was known that Mestre Cupijó would play, the news would spread incredibly fast, just by word of mouth. We didn’t understand how that was possible, but it certainly was amazing."

After the initial wave of enthusiasm, the first two LPs were recorded with rudimentary equipment in a dance club in Cametá. However, it was the third attempt, recorded in a studio in Belém, which would trigger a phenomenal success. "Caboclinha Do Igapo" and "Mambo do Martela", included on this record, became instant hits. A year later, "Mingau de Açai", one of Cupijo ́s most popular tunes, took the region by storm. In total six LPs were recorded by Mestre Cupijó.

He then created "Concurso de Musicas Carnavalesco de Compositores Cametaenses”, a contest for carnival music composers. The songs composed expressly for these contests in the 70s are still performed today during carnival season. In addition to evolving the Pará music culture in this way, he also owned a makeshift soundsystem, "Musicolor", to spin the discs of local artists before his own shows to the frenzied crowds. Mestre Cupijó proved himself a philanthropist as well as a conductor for the people’s music, and acted as a provisional lawyer for the city of Cametá, specialising in help for the poor. He also had a short spell in politics and was elected by a vast majority to the station of Municipal Councillor of Cametá.

Master Cupijó, the pillar of Pará's festive culture, and a humble pop icon who was ushered prominently into the country’s history books, passed away on 25 September 2012, at the age of 76. Thankfully, the Analog Africa label's careful selection of tracks from Mestre Cupijó’s six studio albums that make up their well-researched Siriá collection will help ensure that his masterful musical legacy will continue to fascinate and inspire generations to come.



Friday, April 4, 2014

See Massey-Harris @ Sauce, Saturday

Gord, Scott and crew will tear it up at Sauce (1376 Danforth) on Saturday from 4 to 7 pm. 

One For The Weekend: Terje Rypdal

Check out the brilliant title track from Terje Rypdal's 1968 solo debut Bleak House. 


Thursday, April 3, 2014

A taste of Todd Simon's Ethio-Colombian blend


The Munich-based Jazz & Milk label is launching a new compilation series of previously unavailable recordings with the 6-song various artist Footprints 12" EP (and digital download). After a quasi Afro-funk joint by Bad Jazz Troupe remixed by Jazz & Milk founder Dusty and some MPC-based bedroom house trickery from Vienna's Sam Irl, comes the compilation's real standout track – the hard-swingin' Ethio-Colombian hybrid "Sidama De Cali" by Todd Simon and the Angel City All Star Brass Band.

Inspired by the custom coffee blends which Simon brews, "Sidama De Cali" essentially just horns and percussion but thanks to Simon's tight arrangement the 21-piece ACASBB's debut release comes together seamlessly. And yes, the rumour that the guacharaca scraping comes courtesy of Will "Quantic" Holland is true.

No doubt some fans of the Poets of Rhythm and Whitefield Brothers will want to grab this limited-run 12" for the JJ Whitefield-penned "Who's Foolin' Who?" pounded out with pan-African finess by Karl Hector & The Malcouns but "Sidama De Cali" by the ACASBB is the real gem as you can hear below.

Todd Simon & The Angel City All Star Brass Band - Sidama De Cali
 

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Happy Birthday Serge Gainsbourg!

Enjoy Serge's "La Horse" seven-inch, released on his own Hortensia label in 1970. 

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Watch Can live in Soest, 1970

Enjoy this rare and funky performance footage of Can shot in 1970 while it's available.

The Baseball Project vs. A-Rod


Midweek Mixdown: The Jazz Kid

Enjoy this dope "Deep & Spiritual Jazz" mix put together by The Jazz Kid


Track listing: 
1.The Time Of This World Is At Hand by Billy Gault 
2.Black Land Of The Nile by Masequa Myers 
3.John Coltrane (Live) by the Clifford Jordan Quartet 
4.Afro Blue by Dee Dee Bridgewater 
5.Creole Girl by Noah Howard 
6.Love And Hate by Jackie McLean 
7.Moon Child by Doug Carn 
8.My Africa by The Pyramids 
9.Capra Black by Billy Harper