Happy Birthday Airto Moreira!

Celebrating Airto Moreira's 82nd birthday with his Quarteto Novo debut album and a couple of recent tribute performances. 

R.I.P. Reggie Andrews, 1948-2022

Sadly, pianist and educator Reggie Andrews (who wrote/produced the Dazz Band's "Let It Whip") has passed away at the age of 74.  

Watch Patrice Rushen live on Black Omnibus in 1973

The Patrice Rushen Trio plays "Haw–Right Now" after an introduction by James Earl Jones (pre-Darth Vader). 

Midweek Mixdown: Rainer Trüby

Rainer Trüby goes even smoother with a silky sweet selection of languid club jams on his new Soulgliding comp for BBE. Listen to a sampler mix below. 

Former member of A Forest Mighty Black and founder of Trüby Trio, celebrated club DJ Rainer Trüby, aka Rainer Trueby, presents his new compilation Soulgliding out now on BBE Music.

Starting life as a Facebook group, ‘Soulgliding’ is a phrase coined by Rainer Trueby to describe the more languid, smoother side of 2-Step, Boogie, Modern Soul and even Jazz. This silky collection spans several decades and sums up what Soulgliding is all about: evocative airy music that feels like a dream-flight across a friendly sky.

Or, as Rainer's longtime pal Patrick Forge puts it in his sleeve notes…

“Soulgliding….. It’s all in that word, a stroke of genius, no explanation needed, I knew what it was about before I even read the rules. Anyway there was only one rule that really mattered, the speed limit, nothing beyond 110bpm. What I didn’t know when Rainer first convened the eponymous Facebook group was just how addictive it would be. Several months of sharing, liking, commenting, loving and frantic dives into Discogs later, and Soulgliding has become a thing. A genre? Well, almost. This selection lovingly compiled by Rainer himself goes a long way to solidify the notion and stake a claim on the territory.

This set of gliders has all the elements; from the slow (enough!) boogie of Crystal Winds, to the jazzy excursions courtesy of Ambiance and Les Hooper, and a clutch of tunes that are closer to the original 2-Step blueprint from Demo Cates, Bridge, Cloud One and Donna McGhee. Then there are the eighties drum machine grooves of Patrice Rushen and Fifth Of Heaven and the ethereal beatless magic of Peter Brown’s “Without Love”. A selection that manages to amalgamate plenty of obscurities without losing the essence, a selection which shimmers, soothes, inspires……glides.”

Various Artists - Rainer Trueby presents Soulgliding (BBE)
Ambiance – Camouflage 5:17 123 bpm
Bridge – Next to Me 4:06 81 bpm
Cast – Sweetness 5:10 96 bpm
Cloud One – Dust to Dust 4:24 150 bpm
Crystal Winds – Lover's Holiday 4:32 105 bpm
Demo Cates – Memories of Moments 03:52 94 bpm
Donna McGhee – It Ain´t No Big Thing 6:39 98 bpm
Fifth Of Heaven – Just a Little More 5:33 88 bpm
Les Hooper – Lady of the Night 5:50 92 bpm
Mellaa – Makin’ Love in the Fast Lane 3:46 96 bpm
Patrice Rushen – To Each His Own 4:15 107 bpm
Peter Brown – Without Love 2:37 98 bpm
Ray & James – Nature Boy 4:08 101 bpm