R.I.P. Wee Willie Harris, 1933-2023

Sadly, Wee Willie Harris, known as 'Britain's Wildman of Rock 'n' Roll' has passed away at 90. He'll be missed. 

Watch Archie & The Bunkers' video for "She's A Rockin' Machine"

"She's A Rockin' Machine" was the top side of Archie & The Bunkers' live single for Third Man. Watch Kacie Marie's video below. 

Anibal Velásquez's salsa side gets spotlight on new Vampi Soul reissue

Colombian accordion ace Anibal Velásquez has his descarga experiments from Tremenda Salsa recirculated by Vampi Soul.  

Here's the scoop...

Aníbal "Sensación" Velásquez is one of Colombia's most innovative and prolific Costeño musicians, known as "El Mago del Acordeón" and "El Rey de La Guaracha". Velásquez grew up hearing Cuban music as well as the local rhythms of his region, and this led him to tinker with and transform the beats and melodies of the regional music encountered in his home city of Barranquilla during the 1950s and '60s. After playing a sideman in several groups, Velásquez formed his own conjunto with his elder brother Juan, a talented musician in his own right, and his younger sibling José. 

The album, En Tremenda Salsa is a perfect example of Aníbal Velásquez's wanderlust and restless creative spirit. A pioneer of the adventuresome mixing of rhythms, genres, and styles that was happening at the time in Barranquilla and the rest of coastal Colombia, in retrospect one can say that Velásquez was quite daring in combining the music and instrumentation of his native country with other Caribbean forms. In 1968, when he made this album, very few Colombians were attempting to record an accordion-led session of descarga, guaracha, boogaloo, guajira, guaguancó, and mambo, and for that Velásquez should be recognized as a forerunner of various other records by Lisandro Meza y su Combo, Los Corraleros de Majagual, Los Caporales del Magdalena, and Chico Cervantes y su Conjunto Internacional. 

The album kicks off with an intense and mesmerizing descarga featuring the guaguancó bass line, hot Cuban style piano and a heavy timbales solo, reminding one of the Tico-Alegre or Fania All-Stars jam session records. And yet, the accordion and caja are there throughout the tune, giving it plenty of "sabor colombiano" and distancing it from the New York or Havana sound. It bears repeating that for this album Velásquez and Fuentes added a crucial ingredient in salsa, the piano. 

Overall, the feeling on the album is of the loose, improvised jam session implied in the genre term descarga. Although En Tremenda Salsa is just one of many such records that Velásquez cut with his Cuban and Puerto Rican influences writ large on his sleeve, it is perhaps his most consistent and well-recorded, certainly only one of a few of his featuring prominent piano played in a salsa style, and this is why it is a highly sought after record by collectors in the know. Remastered from the original tapes, with original artwork intact. Includes two bonus tracks. 180 gram vinyl. Get a copy from Forced Exposure mailorder right here. Have a listen to the album below followed by Anibal Velásquez in action. 

Happy 90th Birthday Willie Nelson!

Celebrating Willie Nelson's 90th birthday with some early TV performances and interviews. 

Roland Alphonso & Brentford All Stars vs. Jackie Mittoo & Soul Vendors

Roland Alphonso's "Sir D Special" for Studio One was a sweet update of "Autumn Sounds" off Jackie Mittoo's Evening Time. 

Happy Birthday Blossom Dearie!

Remembering singer/pianist Blossom Dearie on her birthday with three performances and her delightful Rootin' Songs album.

One For The Weekend: Stephen Stills with David Crosby

Here's a Stephen Stills performance of "The Lee Shore" with David Crosby from Live at Berkeley 1971. 

Will Sergeant discusses the first four Echo & The Bunnymen albums

Here's an hour-long chat with Echo & The Bunnymen guitarist Will Sergeant at his home in Lancashire. 

Will Sergeant also just released a collaborative recording with his old Liverpool pal Paul Simpson of the Wild Swans. 

Happy Birthday Ann Peebles!

Celebrating Ann Peebles' birthday today with a couple of soul classics from her days with Hi Records in Memphis.  

Whaddya mean you don't know Alcides Lanza

Here's a selection of computer music joints by Alcides Lanza, who ran McGill University's Electronic Music Studio in the early 70s.  

Happy Birthday Preston Love!

Remembering saxophonist/flautist Preston Love on his birthday with a couple of his swingin' early gems. 

Watch GA-20 play Hound Dog Taylor's "Sitting At Home Alone"

Here's GA-20 reprising a Hound Dog Taylor gem followed by one from Ricky Allen and another from Lazy Lester. 

B-Side Wins Again: Calvin Arnold's Funny Bone

Tommy Stewart produced the overlooked southern soul gem "Bring It Home" for Funny Bone aka Calvin Arnold in 1977.  

Violent Femmes discuss their debut 40 years later on Life Of The Record

Listen to Gord Gano, Brian Ritchie and Victor DeLorenzo chat about their Violent Femmes debut from 1983 below. 

THE MAKING OF VIOLENT FEMMES LP - FEAT. GORDON GANO, BRIAN RITCHIE & VICTOR DELORENZO

For the 40th anniversary of Violent Femmes’ classic debut album, we take a detailed look at how it was made. After bassist Brian Ritchie and drummer Victor DeLorenzo first started playing around Milwaukee as a rhythm section, they met a teenage songwriter named Gordon Gano. Despite having limited experience and still just being in high school, Gano had an extraordinary set of good songs that he had already written. Violent Femmes began playing as a trio but weren’t able to get many gigs in town so they started playing acoustically on the street. One day they decided to play for a line of people outside the Oriental Theater who were there to see the Pretenders. James Honeyman-Scott was on a break from soundcheck and became interested in this band playing outside the theater. He convinced the rest of the Pretenders to listen and Chrissie Hynde ended up inviting the Femmes to open for them that night. Though the impromptu gig didn’t lead to other opportunities, it gave them a boost of confidence to continue doing what they were doing. Shake Records became interested in releasing an album so they booked studio time with producer Mark Van Hecke. The label deal fell through but they decided to keep the studio time with the help of a loan from DeLorenzo’s father. The recordings they made ended up on Slash Records’ radar and they eventually released the Violent Femmes debut album as is in 1983.

In this episode, Gordon Gano reflects on being a bored and lonely teenager who had a drive to write songs as a way to get out frustration. Brian Ritchie describes his unconventional approach to the acoustic bass guitar that helps give Violent Femmes their signature sound. Victor DeLorenzo offers his perspective on using brushes, a snare drum and his invention called the trancephone in order to have a simple setup that could be moved easily and played on the street. From being booed by thousands of Milwaukeans to punk music played acoustically to embracing the improvisation of Sun Ra to the first album as a mixtape that continues to get passed between generations, we’ll hear the stories of how the record came together.

Check it out the Life Of The Record podcast right here followed by an early interview clip on Milwaukee at 12 and a 1983 performance of "Add It Up" shot at the Hacienda in Manchester. 

Tokyo's mighty 5.6.7.8's rock the Horseshoe, August 31

Tickets are now on sale for the much-anticipated Toronto return of The 5.6.7.8's. Check out their show in Guildford last year. 

You can get advance tickets for The 5.6.7.8's show at the Horseshoe on Aug. 31 right here.

Happy Birthday Stafford James!

Celebrating the birthday of bass boss Stafford James with his swingin' "Del Samba," "Costa Bruciata" and an interview.

Whaddya mean you don't know Mark Malmborg aka "Mark Eric"

Mark Malmborg's moody Beach Boys-style gem "A Midsummer's Day Dream" was rescued from obscurity – but not his country 7" 

Happy Birthday Roland White!

Remembering Roland White on his birthday with a performance at McCabe's from 2013 after a short interview. 

Dollar Bin Delights: Don Burrows presents The Tasman Connection

Oz jazz star Don Burrows (left) and guitarist George Golla (right) got help from Julian Lee (center) for this funky 1976 throwdown.

Helen McCookerybook talks about her new album, Drawing On My Dreams

Helen McCookerybook enlisted her pals, including Lindy Morrison (of The Go-Betweens) for her new album available here.  

R.I.P. Mark Stewart of The Pop Group, 1960-2023

Sadly, Mark Stewart of The Pop Group has passed away at the age of 62. He'll be greatly missed. 

LINKS

The Guardian Mark Stewart, Pop Group frontman, dies aged 62

Andy Bey talks jazz and art with Dick Griffin in Jackson, MS

Singer/pianist reconnected recently with trombonist/painter Dick Griffin in Jackson, Mississippi. Here's what went down. 

Dwight Trible joins Kahil El'Zabar's EHE for 'Spirit Gatherer' salute to Don Cherry

Kahil El'Zabar's "Spirit Gatherer" tribute to forward-looking trumpeter and bandleader Don Cherry is out now via Spiritmuse.

Here's the scoop...

Visionary percussionist and veteran bandleader Kahil El’Zabar leads his Ethnic Heritage Ensemble in celebration of the legendary jazz pioneer Don Cherry and releases new album Spirit Gatherer and previews the first track ‘Don Cherry’. The fifth of a series of Spiritmuse recordings that began with 2019’s Be Known: Ancient/Future Music [Spiritmuse KEZ001], Spirit Gatherer finds the three-person Ethnic Heritage Ensemble joined by two storied guest artists: Dwight Trible, vocalist with the Pan-Afrikan Peoples Arkestra, and multi-instrumentalist David Ornette Cherry, Don Cherry’s eldest son. Performed by a group of artists who intimately understand the profundity of Don Cherry’s contribution to universal musical and artistic culture, Spirit Gatherer is a powerful, spiritualised tribute to one of the giants of twentieth century music. 

Don Cherry was a true original. A pioneer of the jazz avant-garde, he first emerged as part of the Ornette Coleman group. After quickly establishing himself as a key figure in America, he eventually relocated to Europe, where he moved beyond jazz to pursue a universal spirit music. Cherry’s quest was spiritual, musical, social and political – open-hearted and profoundly humane, his life and art were dedicated to beauty and the betterment of all humanity. His music carries a crucial message for today, and Kahil El’Zabar and the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble dedicate their new album Spirit Gatherer to him, both to honour his legacy and highlight his ever-growing importance. 

‘Don Cherry is the essential, iconic, urban shaman,’ says Kahil El’Zabar. ‘After doing America the Beautiful [Spiritmuse KEZ005] and speaking to the political, social times; and then believing that there has to be resolution, that's why there was A Time for Healing [Spiritmuse KEZ007]. Then after the time for healing, you have to acknowledge the mentors that actually expressed that healing, so that we can figure out better ways to use it. And I couldn't find a better example for now than Don Cherry to amplify that. And so that's why we call him the Spirit Gatherer, which is the name of the album.’ 

A legendary figure with over fifty years experience in jazz and improvised music (including a decade as the chair of Chicago avant-garde collective the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians), El’Zabar brings a powerful heritage and a wealth of experience to his art, directing the songs on Spirit Gatherer with kalimba, voice, or cajon. ‘Don Cherry was griot of the community,’ he says, and this deeply spiritual and shamanic aspect of aspect of Cherry’s practice is echoed in El’Zabar’s own musical journey. ‘The whole key to the story is learn to own your voice. But first, you have to have the grace of history to inform you as you translate it into your individual idea… The was the journey of Don Cherry, and that’s a parallel in terms of my life choices – his model of eclecticism, his model of independence and individuality, his sense of style, his lyrical expressions of being: these were all things that I tried to emulate in my own character.’ 

For El’Zabar and the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble, Cherry’s message has a particular resonance in our troubled times: ‘Against the atrocities of current day, the way that we saved ourselves is that we all went to our spirit at this time, and the arts were the conduit to the opening of our health, our wellness as human beings. And so we're all feeling a vibe now. It’s not just about the aesthetics of the music – it's about the utility of service that the music brings to you. And that's why Don Cherry is resonating with the current generation, because he was true to that energy.’ 

As well as several originals by the leader, the songs selected for Spirit Gatherer draw their power from Don Cherry’s legacy, and reach out the spiritualised milieu in which he worked and lived. The music calls forth the sanctified universal folklore of Cherry’s music and refracts it through the firmly rooted Africentric modal grooves now synonymous with El’Zabar’s art. Cherry’s first great collaborator, Ornette Coleman, is represented by his deathless composition ‘Lonely Woman’; in tribute to Cherry’s favourite composer, Thelonious Monk, the band tackle ‘Well You Needn’t’ with a low-key, funked-up read; and Coltrane, with whom Cherry collaborated at various times, is evoked through a musical prayer to A Love Supreme. 

As ever, El’Zabar leads the album on multi-percussion, steering the group and setting the pace with his trademark combination of peerless rhythmic invention, melodic subtlety and grounded spiritual direction. Support from regular frontline collaborators Corey Wilkes on trumpet and Alex Harding on baritone sax builds out the sound, with Wilkes channelling the quicksilver improvising brilliance of Cherry himself while Harding embarks on deep-rooted thematic investigations. But Spirit Gatherer is lifted even higher by the presence of two illustrious guests: Dwight Trible and David Ornette Cherry. 

Don Cherry’s eldest son, the multi-instrumentalist, educator and composer David Ornette Cherry, has an intimate familial understanding of his father’s musical philosophy. He played with Don from the age of sixteen, and has collaborated with many jazz greats including Billy Higgins, Charlie Haden and Ed Blackwell. His latest album, Organic Nation Listening Club (The Continual), was released on Spiritmuse in 2021, to critical acclaim. On Spirit Gatherer, he adds spiritual warmth and energy on piano and melodica, and invokes the instantly recognisable language of his father’s music when playing douss’n’gouni, the West African hunter’s harp. 

Vocalist Dwight Trible is a key figure in Los Angeles renowned community jazz collective, the Pan Afrikan Peoples’ Arkestra. Founded by Horace Tapscott, the Ark has been the seed-bed for three generations of Los Angeles jazz musicians, and it grew out of the same Central Avenue soil that Don Cherry himself was rooted in. Trible, a vocalist who combines both operatic power with deepest blue jazz sensibility, brings electrifying presence and lyrical richness to the session. 

In this exalted company the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble’s sonic odyssey goes from strength to strength, opening up new spaces of healing in our present tribulation, new connections to the wisdom of the ancestors, and new vistas onto mended futures. We hope that you enjoy the journey of the Spirit Gatherer. 

As on previous Spiritmuse albums from El’Zabar, stunning original album artwork by multi-disciplinary artist Nep Sidhu accompanies the music. The album is presented with archive images of Don Cherry, courtesy of the Cherry Archive, Estate of Moki Cherry. 

Get a copy of the Spirit Gatherer: Tribute To Don Cherry album by Kahil El'Zabar's Ethnic Heritage Ensemble via Bandcamp right here. Check out the title track and an interpretation of Pharoah Sanders' "Harvest Time" followed by the track listing and credits. 

Kahil El'Zabar's Ethnic Heritage Ensemble – Spirit Gatherer: Tribute to Don Cherry

1. Don Cherry, composed by Kahil El’Zabar 

2. Lonely Woman, composed by Ornette Coleman * 

3. Evocation, composed by Kahil El’Zabar 

4. Degi-Degi, composed by Don Cherry * 

5. Sketches of a Love Supreme, based on the original composition by John Coltrane * 

6. Bop On, composed by Kahil El’Zabar 

7. Holy Man, composed by Kahil El’Zabar 

8. Well You Needn't, composed by Thelonious Monk * 

9. The Opening, composed by Kahil El’Zabar 

10. Harvest Time, composed by Pharoah Sanders * 

11. Spirit Gatherer, composed by Kahil El’Zabar 

Kahil El’Zabar – multi-percussion / balafon / kalimba / voice 

Corey Wilkes – trumpet/ spirit bowls/ percussion 

Alex Harding – baritone sax 

Dwight Trible – voice 

David Ornette Cherry – piano / melodica / douss’n gouni 

Except Tracks 3, 8 & 9, with the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble only 

Kahil El’Zabar – multi-percussion / balafon / kalimba / voice 

Corey Wilkes – trumpet/ spirit bowls/ percussion 

Alex Harding – baritone sax

Dufflet's closing flagship store on Queen West

Sadly, Dufflet Pastries is closing it's popular Queen West retail shop on April 29th to focus on it's wholesale business. 

One For The Weekend: Everything But The Girl vs. Four Tet

Here's the Four Tet club remix of "Nothing Left To Lose" by Everthing But The Girl off their new FUSE album out now. 

Happy Birthday Iggy Pop!

Celebrating the birthday of Iggy Pop with the 1986 Dutch TV documentary Lust For Life: The Turbulent Life of Jim Osterberg. 

Catl hits the Cameron House, April 22

Don't miss Toronto's primo primal blues rockin' duo Catl at The Cameron Saturday at 10 pm before they head to the U.S. on tour.

Deke Dickerson releasing "Honky Tonkin' Rhythm" album on April 28th

For his first post-pandemic album, Deke Dickerson is knockin' out that Honky Tonkin' Rhythm on CD and LP next week.

Here's the scoop from Deke...

New album dropping April 28!  You can get it on CD (and vinyl in a few months), download, and all the streaming platforms.  Get you some "Honky Tonkin' Rhythm" NEXT WEEK! For more info on Deke's music, tour dates and more, visit his site right here https://dekedickerson.com. 

In the meantime, check out a recent performance and an interview below. 
 

Midweek Mixdown: Egon from Now-Again

Now-Again Records head honcho Egon spins a heady 44-minute selection of Zamrock and psych from his own stash right here.

Check out Egon's 2013 interview with Eilon Paz for Dust & Grooves right here. 

Just out from Now-Again Reserve is a 3LP set from Del Jones' Positive Vibes "Court Is Closed"... get it right here while you can!

Albert Ayler's "Europe 1966" 4-LP box due for Record Store Day

ORG Music is releasing a 4-LP box of the Albert Ayler band's performances in Berlin, Lörrach, Stockholm and Paris in 1966. 

Here's the scoop...

Europe 1966 is a box set consisting of live performances from free jazz visionary Albert Ayler. Each of the 4 LP's highlights some of the most magnificent moments on this European tour, showcasing Ayler and his bandmates at the height of their powers. The release includes performances from Berlin, Lörrach, Stockholm, and Paris, all of which occurred within a two week span. Ayler's masterful band on this tour included his brother Donald on trumpet, Michel Samson on violin, William Folwell on double bass, and Beaver Harris on drums. These performances have been remastered for vinyl by Dave Gardner at Infrasonic Mastering. The package also includes a 12 x 24 fold-out insert, featuring liner notes from John Litweller and photos from the tour. The ORG Music release will be available for Record Store Day 2023, with each LP pressed on audiophile-grade black vinyl at Pallas Group in Germany. 

Check out J. Jackson Toth's Aquarium Drunkard's think piece on Albert Ayler in of Europe. 1966 right here followed by the track listing below and a sampling of what you can expect to hear from Albert Ayler's Berlin and Stockholm performances in November, 1966. 

ALBERT AYLER - EUROPE 1966

Berlin, November 3, 1966

A01_Truth Is Marching In 7:25

A02_Omega (Is The Alpha) 3:36

B01_Our Prayer - Truth Is Marching In 5:06

B02_Ghosts - Bells 11:29

Lörrach, Germany on November 7, 1966

C01_Bells 13:28

C02_Prophet 7:06

D01_Our Prayer - Spirits Rejoice 6:22

D02_Ghosts 3:26

D03_Truth Is Marching In 11:15

Stockholm, November 10, 1966

E01_Truth Is Marching In 9:15

E02_Omega (Is The Alpha) 10:36

F01_Our Prayer - Bells 7:51

F02_Infinite Spirit - Japan 3:53

Paris Jazz Festival on November 13, 1966

G01_Ghosts 7:43

H01_Spiritual Rebirth - Light In Darkness - Infinite Spirit 11:00

H02_All - Our Prayer - Holy Family 4:45

Celebrating Tito Puente's 100th Birthday on Thursday at WKCR-FM

WKCR is celebrating Tito Puente's centennial tomorrow by playing 24 hours of the mambo king's music starting at midnight.

Here's the scoop...

WKCR announces a 100th birthday celebration for Tito Puente, broadcast on FM and HD radio and online on Thursday, April 20th from 12:00AM TO 11:59PM. The special broadcast will preempt all regularly-scheduled Jazz and Latin shows, including Daybreak Express, Birdflight, Out To Lunch, and Jazz Alternatives.

Tune in to 89.9 FM to listen to WKCR's Tito Puente Birthday Broadcast in celebration of his 100th Anniversary. Born in New York City’s Spanish Harlem neighbourhood to Puerto Rican parents, Puente fused the influences from his own culture with those around him and became a pioneer for Latin Jazz. After studying music on the G.I. Bill at the Juilliard School of Music, he went on to heighten popularity in mambo, cha-cha-chá, and boogaloo.

Tito Puente is most famous for his song Oye Cómo Va on the album El Rey Bravo released in 1962 to Fania Records. Through collaborations with other reputable Latin musicians such as Celia Cruz, Santos Colon, Willie Colón, and La Lupe, Puente made a name for himself across various genres and crowds. In 1948, Tito Puente's performance with Tito Rodríguez and Machito put the Palladium on the map, and he helped establish it as a Latin music venue and dance space. Tune in for a day of dedication to the King of Latin Music”

The broadcast will be produced and hosted by WKCR's Latin and Jazz Departments. A programming schedule for the special broadcast is forthcoming. Follow WKCR on Instagram (@wkcr) and Twitter (@WKCRFM) for further updates. Online listening is available 24/7 at wkcr.org via web stream!

While you're waiting for the Tito Puente Birthday broadcast, check out an hour-long mix of some choice performances from "El Rey" below. 

R.I.P. Azymuth drummer Ivan Conti, 1946-2023

Saddened to hear that drummer Ivan "Mamão" Conti of Brazil's legendary Azymuth has passed away. He'll be greatly missed.

Shella Records is recirculating a 1982 synth-reggae gem from Ruffy & Tuffy

A timely reissue of Ruffy & Tuffy's vocoder-tweaked "If The 3rd World War Is A Must" will be out in May. Read all about it below. 

Here's the scoop from Shella Records...

Teenage twins Ruffy & Tuffy deliver an apocalyptic slab of synth drenched rub a dub with what could be the first use of Vocoder in Reggae for 1982’s "If The 3rd World War Is A Must." This release draws from both the original 12” and the  master tapes combining the best vocal cut and dub versions. 

Though not prolific musicians, many will  recognize the twins sparring in matching red Pony track suits in Ted Bafaloukos’ iconic 1978 film Rockers. Given that to many today Jamaica means reggae and reggae means Rasta, it may be hard to grasp just how feared and despised the Rastafari community was by mainstream Jamaican society in the 60s and even into the 70s, as the representation of everything anti-colonial. 

Ruffy explains,  “We wasn’t the first kids …with locs but the first who were going out  ‘cause you have other Rasta youth with locs but they were staying at home..we were venturing, going out.. everything is in the street. In those times Rasta never get accepted in society that much (people say) “ Rasta no good.. nothing good came from Rasta ” But everything good came from rasta ‘cause we were the ones teaching them about their culture.”

Raised  by their mother as Rastafari from birth, brothers Omar and Otis Newton (Ruffy & Tuffy)  were visible symbols of this defiance and were taken under the wing of Kingston's Reggae fraternity and even feared enforcers across JLP/PNP divides such as Claudie Massop, Bucky Marshall, Tony Welsh, Earl “Tek Life” and Froza who ensured they weren’t discriminated against at school and encouraged them to take the path of education.  

“Most of the bredren in those times respect us as Rasta youth..They never introduced us to guns..they encouraged us to go to school… they give us money to go to school, buy school gear, buy us books.”

Surrounded by elite reggae musicians from childhood  it was nothing unusual for the brothers  to be in the presence of elders like Gregory Isaacs, Burning Spear, Augustus Pablo, Jacob Miller and especially Bob Marley at recording sessions and in daily life. Ahead of its time in almost every way, the lyrics of If The 3rd World War Is A Must  dealing with global apocalypse and the nefarious use of technology, sadly seem as relevant now as they did in 1982, though some of the actors may have changed. In the early 80’s the threat of nuclear war was inescapable as was the cruelty of poverty In Jamaica, apartheid and other global conflicts. 

“We as artists at the time weren’t gonna sing about how much girls I love..And through the Rasta faith.. everything entwined.”

If The 3rd World War Is A Must  was their first venture into the studio as solo artists in 1982, first at Channel One and then Tuff Gong where Wailers alumni Earl “Wire” Lindo and Tyrone Downie (keys and Vocoder) laid down their space age additions to the track creating a genre bending Reggae /Electro/ Dub concoction that still sounds fresh 41 years later. 

Pre-order a copy of the limited 12" release on Shella Records right here. Have a listen below. 

The Texas connection

Wire Lindo & the twins took the mastertapes to Texas based mechanical engineer and producer Stephen “Iya” James  who ran Marcus Garvey Records and the label African Unity Productions in the unlikely Reggae hub of Austin Texas. The track was not released until two years later in 1984 as a 12” which had a run of only 500 copies and is no easy pull these days. Both Ruffy & Tuffy are still active musicians, Ruffy migrated to London in 2002 while Tuffy remained in Jamaica. For more shots from Austin’s  80’s Roots and dancehall scene check Shella Records Melody Beecher reissues “Illusions” and “Diamonds & Thrills" available now. 

Under license from Iya and Ruffy and Tuffy. 

Happy Birthday Little Brother Montgomery

Remembering versatile Louisiana-born pianist Little Brother Montgomery with a 1976 performance of "Vicksburg Blues"

That time The Saints played Paddington Town Hall in 1977

Here's a resolution upgrade on The Saints' performance footage from Paddington Town Hall back in April of 1977. Thanks Ed! 

R.I.P. pianist/composer Ahmad Jamal, 1930-2023

Sadly, well-sampled pianist/composer Ahmad Jamal has passed away. He'll be greatly missed. Listen to a couple of interviews.

Dead Moon's Toody Cole discusses her D.I.Y. life

Here's an informative interview with Portland's Toody Cole conducted by Tanya Pearson in 2019 following a recent performance. 

That time Artie "Blues Boy" White appeared on Chic-A-Go-Go

We're also remembering Windy City blues great Artie White on his birthday with his performance on Chic-A-Go-Go!

Happy Birthday Henry Mancini!

Remembering composer/pianist Henry Mancini with the opening sequence and a suite of cues from Orson Welles' "Touch Of Evil."

Watch a film about Memphis guitarist/songwriter Teenie Hodges

Check out Susanna Vapnek's film about guitarist Mabon "Teenie" Hodges who co-wrote many of Al Green's classics right here.