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July 6, 2020July 7, 2020 Dig Deep

Dig Deep: Nikki Giovanni – The Truth Is On Its Way – Right On (1971)

Nikki Giovanni & the New York Community Choir – Great Pax Whitey/Peace Be Still
Nikki Giovanni & the New York Community Choir – Ego Tripping
Nikki Giovanni & the New York Community Choir – All I Gotta Do/I Stood On The Banks Of Jordan
Nikki Giovanni & the New York Community Choir – Woman Poem/Amazing Grace

This is a record that I have owned maybe more times than any other. In fact, I’ve owned three different versions of this album, each with a different cover, though this most recent copy, featuring Nikki Giovanni’s face, likely reading her own poems, is my favorite. I don’t have any reason for why I’ve ultimately parted ways with this recorded multiple times, it’s just been related to the ebb and flow of my collection, where I’ve sold significant portions of it for a number of reasons.

I do however, have some very good reasons for always getting a copy of this album, and that is because it features some of the most soul stirring performances I’ve ever heard. In this case, I bought this album, once again, here in this surreal Summer of 2020. As the US has been embroiled in conflict with multiple pandemics, the renewed emphasis on issues of Race and our Racial and often Racist history has put Nikki Giovanni into my mind more than a few times.

The particular catalyst for getting this one (in addition to a couple other Giovanni albums that I hadn’t owned before) was her conversation with James Baldwin originally broadcast on SOUL! In 1971. Baldwin is rightly recognized as one of the best minds to tackle issues surrounding Race in the US, remaining relevant through much of our current difficulties, but Giovanni’s critical eye was no less prescient, as is clearly evident on her poem “Great Pax Whitey,” originally published in her collection, “Black Feeling, Black Talk, Black Judgement, and here is combined with a rendition of “Peace Be Still” by the New York Community Choir.

Nikki Giovanni – “Great Pax Whitey”

“In the beginning was the word,
And the word was,
Death,
And the word was nigger,
And the word was death to all niggers,
And the word was death to all life,
And the word was death to all,
Peace be still.

The genesis was life,
The genesis was death,
In the genesis of death,
Was the genesis of war,
Be still peace, be still.

In the name of peace,
They waged the wars,
Ain’t they got no shame?

In the name of peace,
Lot’s wife is now a product of the Morton company,
Nah, they ain’t got no shame.

Noah packing his wife and kiddies up for a holiday,
Row row row your boat,
But why’d you leave the unicorns Noah, huh?
Why’d you leave them?
While our Black Madonna stood there,
Eighteen feet high holding Him in her arms,
Listening to the rumblings of peace be still,
Be still.

Can I get a witness? Witness? Witness?
He wanted to know,
And Peter only asked, who is that dude?
Who is that Black dude?
Looks like a troublemaker to me,
And the foundations of the mighty mighty Roman Catholic Church were laid,
Hallelujah Jesus,
Nah, they ain’t got no shame.

Cause they killed the Carthaginians,
in the great Appian Way,
And they killed the Moors just to civilize a nation,
And they just killed the earth,
And blew out the sun,
In the name of a god,
Whose genesis was white,
And war wooed god,
And America was born,
Where war became peace,
And genocide patriotism,
And honor is a happy slave,
Cause all god’s chillun need rhythm,
And glory hallelujah, why can’t peace be still?

The great emancipator was a bigot,
Ain’t they got no shame?
And making the world safe for democracy,
Were twenty millon slaves,
Nah, they ain’t got no shame.

And they barbecued six million,
To raise the price of beef,
And crossed the 16th parallel,
To control the price of rice,
Ain’t we never gonna see the light?

And champagne was shipped out of the East,
While kosher pork was introduced to Africa,
Only the torch can show the way.

In the beginning was the deed,
And the deed was death,
And the honkies are getting confused,
Peace be still.

So the great white prince,
Was shot like a nigger in Texas,
And our Black shining prince was murdered,
like that thug in his cathedral,
While our nigger in Memphis,
was shot like their prince in Dallas,
And my lord,
Ain’t we never gonna see the light?
The rumblings of this peace must be stilled,
Be stilled, be still.

Oh, Black people,
Ain’t we got no pride?”

Even though the poem references the song, “Peace” is still an interesting choice for this poem. The song was made famous by James Cleveland & the Angelic Choir in 1963, recorded soon after the Birmingham church bombing that also inspired John Coltrane’s “Alabama.” The song is one that references scripture where Jesus calms turbulent waters by saying “Peace, be still,” and as such it’s a song for troubled times where faith in a better tomorrow is tested. We get almost 3 full minutes of the choir before Giovanni steps in with the fiery indictment of “western” civilization,” and especially American racism that unfortunately remains all too familiar and far too relevant. The way she says, “Nah, they ain’t got no shame,” is just so perfect. In these waning days of the “Pax Americana,” where just when you think things can’t get worse, or horrific actions couldn’t be topped, but they are, I often hear Giovanni’s voice, “nah, they ain’t got no shame…” No matter how many times I’ve heard it, it never fails to give me chills.

Thought they bookend the first side of the record, the one-two punch of “Peace” and “Ego Trippin” is truly something. While the former is an indictment of Racism and all it produces, the latter is a beautiful, joyful, raucous, celebration of Mother Africa and Black history, ending with some of the most beautiful lines of Giovanni’s whole oeuvre.

“I am so perfect so divine, so ethereal, so surreal,
I cannot be comprehended,
Except by my permission.”

Giovanni’s manifold talents at this stage in her career are marvelous to behold. And the deep, deep feeling she inspires is not only focused on issues of Race, but also around Gender (and class, a kind of proto-intersectionality roughly 15 years before the term started to be theorized by Black feminists like Deborah King and Patricia Hill Collins) as evidenced on “All I Gotta Do,” and “Woman Poem,” the latter beautifully and unironically paired with “Amazing Grace.”

Nikki Giovanni – Woman Poem

“You see,
My whole life is tied up to unhappiness,
It’s Father cooking breakfast,
And me getting fat as a hog,
Or having no food at all,
And Father proving his incompetence again,
I wish I knew how it would feel to be free.

It’s having a job they won’t let you work,
Or no work at all castrating me,
Yeah, it happens to women too.

It’s a sex object if you’re pretty and no love,
Or love and no sex if you’re fat,
Get back, fat, black woman,
Be a mother, grandmother, strong thing,

But not a woman,
Games woman, romantic woman, love needer,
Man seeker, sweat getter, love seeking woman.

It’s a hole in your shoe,
And buying Lil’ Sis a dress,
And her saying you shouldn’t,
When you know all too well that you shouldn’t.

But smiles are only something we give to properly dressed social workers,
Not each other,
Only smiles of ‘I know your game Sister,’
Which isn’t really a smile.

Joy is finding a pregnant roach and squashing it
Not finding someone to hold,
Let go, get off, get back, don’t turn me on you dog,
How dare you care about me,
Cause I ain’t nothin’,
And you must be lower than that to care.

It’s a filthy house,
With yesterday’s watermelon,
And Monday’s tears,
Cause true ladies don’t know how to clean it.

It’s intellectual devastation of everyone,
To avoid emotional commitment,
‘Yeah honey, I would’ve married him,
But he didn’t have no degree.’

It’s knock-kneed, mini-skirted,
Wig wearing, dyed blond, mamma’s scar,
Born dead, my scorn,
Rough heeled, broken nailed,
Powdered face,
Me,
Whose whole life is tied up to unhappiness,
Cause it’s the only for real thing I know.”

Amazing Grace indeed…Here on this album, Giovanni presents all the sides of Black life, the good, the bad & the ugly, as well as the resilience, fire and joy of her experience, with such fierce honesty that there is no way you cannot listen…Peace, be still.

July 5, 2020July 5, 2020 Ephemera

Dreaming Of A New Reality…With Murari Band

Murari Band – Dreaming

{So, here we are a couple days from our 11th anniversary, and I’m realizing I’m almost in the same spot I was last year in terms of posts and music. Much of this quarantine life has been spent teaching, but it’s now finally Summer for me and I’ll have much more free time and a more free mind. Thus, expect a flurry of posts here before the 7th, beginning now!}

Over the past couple of months, much of my desire to share music has been directed towards Moods In Free Time. The regularity of that show makes it a bit easier to focus on than regular posts. But now that Spring has fully given way to Summer, which in my case means a much needed break from teaching to fully to account of how this moment has changed things for me personally, I’m finding that I’m starting to get that fire to share more music and words about music.

This album first showed up on my radar at one of Cool Chris’ Groove Merchant X Rappcats pop-ups here in LA. With so many records, many of which none of those who were there had ever seen, there were more than a few records that I was interested in that I just had to put back. For whatever reason, this album stuck with me and so at a much later date I got a sealed copy off the internets.

I was surprised to find that Murari Band was based out of my home town of Atlanta. They were associated with the Hare Krishna movement (Swami Abhay Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta is one of many faces featured on the trippy cover above), but aside from “Dreaming,” I don’t feel like a lot of the Krishna consciousness comes directly (and successfully) through in the music.

Despite being recorded a bit “late” in 1980, “Dreaming” has a nice “soft-psych” early/mid-1970s feel, and the vibe is pure. In this moment of our lives, where it feels like we are living during a very bad sci-fi pandemic dystopian film (or maybe series, since this is gonna go on for a long time), the possibility of retreating to the land of dreams is definitely seductive. But I prefer to think of the way that our dreams may allow us to manifest and conjure up a better version of the reality we are living. With all we are dealing with in the moment, it’s definitely something much needed here in the US and worldwide…

June 26, 2020 Moods In Free Time

Moods In Free Time Vol. 6: Pride

As soon as I finish a show, my thoughts turn to the next one and the next mood, feeling or emotion to focus on. Less than a week after “Sublimity” aired, I was chatting with a dear friend, Esme Germaine Snow Chôquet-Torres, and just casually mentioned that I hadn’t even begun to think about what I’d focus on for June. Esme suggested “Queer Joy” and that was all the spark I needed to focus on “Pride,” given that June is not only Pride Month, but 2020 also marks 50 years since the first Pride marches, which occurred on June 28, 1970, the first anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising of 1969.

While deciding to focus on LGBTQ pride was a no-brainer, figuring out what music I was gonna play was a bit more difficult to sort out (as is always the case for me as a DJ). The first song that came to mind for the show was also the most well known, “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” recorded in 1967 by Frankie Valli and written by Bob Crewe. As legend has it, the inspiration for “Eyes,” regarded as one of the greatest love songs of any era, was Crewe admiring the naked body of his lover. Normally, I don’t highlight such big hits, but “Eyes” has a backstory that not a lot of people seem to know, and something that was obscured entirely in the film version of “Jersey Boys,” where Clint Eastwood makes what had to be a conscious decision (particularly since it strays from the original musical) to portray the crafting of the song not as an expression of gay love, but instead as a tribute to Valli’s daughter, even though her actual death occurred 13 years after the song was recorded.

After “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” emerged as one of the songs I 100% knew I was going to play, I started to think about focusing on artists who performed in the years before Pride became such a visible celebration of LGBTQ folks. As someone who is especially drawn to music recorded prior to my birth in 1975, one of many things I’ve always been fascinated by is the gendered performance (or more specifically what Judith Butler calls “performativity”) of artists whose sexual orientation was either not well known at the time or hidden because they lived a closeted life. In contrast to the present era where there is more tolerance/acceptance for LGBTQ identity and expression, prior to the 1980s it was exceedingly rare for performers to be fully “out,” and to be able to publicly embrace that aspect of their lives. I toyed around with the idea of playing music that would have been played at the Stonewall Inn jukebox (which we know about in detail because of the archival work of the Stonewall Rebellion Veterans Association, which you can find here), but ultimately decided to broaden the scope, though still with an emphasis on artists/recordings prior to 1970.

In addition to allowing me to engage in a bit of musical archeology, and discovering a few artists or performances I hadn’t heard before (I still trip out that despite being a major Jazz head for most of my life, I’d never heard Billy Strayhorn’s voice until I tracked down the version of “Lush Life” featured here in the second set), having that time frame to draw on also made it possible for me to pay short tributes to a couple of icons who had passed recently, Little Richard and Phil May of the Pretty Things.

While I have no idea how long I’ll be doing “Moods In Free Time,” or how many times I’ll repeat a specific mood/feeling, I can 100% guarantee that every June we’ll focus on “Pride.” For now, enjoy these sounds…

Moods In Free Time 006: Pride – 06-25-2020

Playlist – Moods In Free Time 006: Pride

{Opening theme} The Visitors – The Juggler – In My Youth (Muse)

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Frankie Valli – Can’t Keep My Eyes Off Of You – Solo (Philips)

Dusty Springfield – Something For Nothing – Love Songs (Rhino)

Lesley Gore – The Old Crowd – Lesley Gore Sings Of Mixed-Up Hearts (Mercury)

Pretty Things – I Want Your Love – Get The Picture? (Fontana)

Jackie Shane – Any Other Way – Any Other Way (Numero)

Nina Simone – Do I Move You? – Sings The Blues (RCA)

Little Richard – The Rill Thing – The Rill Thing (Reprise)

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Sister Rosetta Tharpe – Let It Shine – Gospel Truth (Mercury)

Secos e Molhados – Amor – Secos e Molhados (Continental)

Wilma Burgess – Misty Blue – Sings Misty Blue (Decca)

Chris Connor – Something To Live For – Chris Connor (Atlantic)

Billy Strayhorn – Lush Life – Lush Life (Red Baron)

James Booker – Blues Minuet/Until The Real Thing Comes Along – Junco Partner (Island)

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Chavela Vargas – Macorina – Noche Bohemia (Orfeon)

Andy Bey – I Know This Love Can’t Be Wrong – Experience & Judgement (Atlantic)

David Bowie – Right – Young Americans (RCA)

Labi Siffre – I Got The… – Remember My Song (EMI)

Janis – To Love Somebody – I Got Dem Ol Kozmic Blues Again Mama! (Columbia)

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{closing theme} Tony Williams – Wild Life – Believe It (Columbia)

May 29, 2020 Moods In Free Time

Moods In Free Time Vol. 5: Sublimity

After a couple of months of some heavy moods, I knew I definitely wanted to focus on something brighter for May’s edition of Moods In Free Time. On one of my daily walks on my block with my pup, the sunlight in LA just looked especially lovely. At one point I just stopped to bask in it, and as I did, I instantly heard The Sons and Daughters Of Lite’s “Let The Sun Shine In,” playing in my ears. That moment was the catalyst for this show, one that focuses on “Sublimity,” or being in the state of the sublime. Sublimity is also a place, an actual town in Oregon, and the site where I witnessed the total eclipse on my birthday in 2017 with some dear friends. So, suffice to say, “Sublimity,” means a great deal to me, and with all the insanity in the world right now, I was more than happy to focus on music that evokes a kind of trascendent beauty. There was immediately one major problem…There were many many many many songs that brought up this feeling for me, but, this show is only 60 minutes.

When I took account of the first collection of songs under this concept, it was over 5 hours long! And that was while I had the mindset of this only being for 1 hour…there’s so much to mine around the concept of “Sublimity,” that there’s no doubt I’ll return to this mood at a later date. As a way of sorting through and choosing the tunes that eventually ended up in the show, I focused on songs that almost immediately, from the moment it begins, I feel compelled to close my eyes, let the music wash over me, and be transported away from wherever I am by the music. And so here you go, 15 songs that signify the deepest levels of “Sublimity” that I’ve felt. Hope you enjoy it…

Moods In Free Time 005: Sublimity – 05-28-2020

Playlist – Moods In Free Time 005: Sublimity

{opening theme} The Visitors – The Juggler – In My Youth (Muse)

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Sons & Daughters Of Lite – Let The Sun Shine In – (Sunlite)

Bobbi Humphrey – San Francisco Lights – Satin Doll (Blue Note)

American Analog Set – Diana Slowburner II – The Fun Of Watching Fireworks (Emperor Jones/Trance)

Fela – Equalisation of Trouser & Pants – Opposite People (Knitting Factory)

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Lee Hazlewood – My Autumn’s Done Come – The Very Special World Of Lee Hazlewood (MGM)

Kraak & Smaak feat. Carmel – Why Do People Fall In Love? – That’s My Word EP (Jalapeno)

David Axelrod – Holy Are You (Instrumental) – The Warner/Reprise Sessions (Rhino/WEA)

Talk Talk – Inheritance – Spirit Of Eden (EMI)

Laraaji – Excerpt From All Pervading – Celestial Vibration (Swan)

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Black Sabbath – Laguna Sunrise – Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (WB)

Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions – Clear Day – Bavarian Fruit Bread (Rough Trade)

Jimi Hendrix – Drifting – The Cry Of Love (Reprise)

Adam Franklin – Big Sur – Spent Bullets (Second Motion/Hi-Speed Soul)

Gilberto Gil – Era Nova – Re-Favela (Philips)

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{Closing Theme} Alice Coltrane – Turiya & Ramakrishna – Ptah, The El Daoud (Impulse)

May 28, 2020 Moods In Free Time

Moods In Free Time Vol. 4: Solitude + Loneliness…with Nedelle Torrisi & Billy Uomo

Unlike the previous month, where I’d planned on dealing with the heavy emotion of “Saudade” almost a month before we ever knew the ways our life would change, and what we would miss, because of this pandemic, this particular show was conceived entirely in this moment. The catalyst was the recognition that “Alone Together,” a song that Billy Uomo had recorded back in 2018, was an almost perfect song for what many of us lovelorn romantics are going through right now. As I started to think about building a show around Loneliness and Solitude, it only made good sense to reach out to Billy and his wife Nedelle Torrisi, who I’ve known since 2001, to be guests on the show.

Over the years, Ned & Billy & I have spent time at our respective places playing and sharing music, so coming onto the show was an easy thing to do and a very welcome bit of connection while we are all isolated, alone together, during this pandemic. I originally thought about them doing separate sets, but as they’re still technically newlyweds, we eventually decided on a shared, super-sized, set that included selections from both.

Along with the set I put together, we hit on a whole lot of different versions of loneliness and solitude in just one hour. As is the case with all of the emotions/moods I’ve covered thus far on the show, there’s a really strong chance that I’ll return to “Loneliness” and “Solitude” in the future, perhaps separately, perhaps together in what I’m calling a “Mixed Emotions” edition of Moods In Free Time…until then, enjoy the show and tune in tonight from 7-8 for Vol. 5, focused on “Sublimity,” on live on Worldwide FM!

Moods In Free Time 004: Solitude+Loneliness – 04-23-2020

Playlist – Moods In Free Time 004: Solitude + Loneliness

{opening theme} The Visitors – The Juggler – In My Youth (Muse)

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Smokey Robinson – Who’s Sad? – Being With You (Motown)

Timi Yuro – Make The World Go Away – Make The World Go Away (Liberty)

Edge Of Daybreak – Our Love – Eyes Of Love (Numero)

Tammi Terrell – All I Do Is Think About You – Come And See About Me: The Complete Solo Collection (Hip-O Select)

Eddie Holman – Hey There Lonely Girl – I Love You (ABC)

Prince – 17 Days (The Rain Will Come Down, Then U Will Have 2 Choose. If U Believe Look 2 The Dawn And U Shall Never Lose) – 12” (WB)

Brenda Lee – All Alone Am I – All Alone Am I (Decca)

Ella Fitzgerald – Solitude – Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Duke Ellington Song Book, Vol. 1 (Verve)

Eric Dolphy – Left Alone – Far Cry (New Jazz)

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Billy Uomo – Alone Together – Hello? EP (Self-Released)

Love – Alone Again, Or – Forever Changes (Elektra)

Elis Regina – Andança – Come E Porque (Philips)

Sam Dees – Lonely For You Baby – 7” (SSS International)

Irma Thomas – Somewhere Crying – Down At Muscle Shoals (Chess)

Chavela Vargas – Soledad – Volver, Volver (WEA)

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{closing theme} Tony Williams Lifetime – Wild Life – Believe It (Columbia)

May 27, 2020May 27, 2020 Moods In Free Time

Moods In Free Time Vol. 3: Saudade…with Monique Maion

Given the way our world turned in March, you might think that this show, focused on the feeling of Saudade, wasn’t planned until after everything changed, but that wasn’t the case. It actually came about shortly after the prior show “Moods” aired, on a night that now fills me with great Saudade, because it was such an amazing night and I (just like everyone else in the world) have no idea when that life will return. I was with my friend, Brazilian singer Monique Maion, seeing Anna Wise perform at one spot and then Lonnie Liston Smith at Jazz Is Dead (with a stop in between at Cafe Birdie in Highland Park for grub, a spot that I can’t wait to reopen) and we got to talking about music and the idea of having Monique as a guest to focus on “Saudade,” was born. “Saudade,” isn’t really translatable into English. It’s a Portuguese word, one that I particularly associate with Brazil and with Brazilians I’ve known, that more or less connects to deep feelings of missing something that is both there and no longer there, whether it is a person, a time, a place or a place in time you shared with a person. A memory that is a bit bittersweet, one that you may reminisce about frequently because of the importance of the moment in your life. I was so excited to do this show at the Artform Studio, to have Monique come in and perform, possibly on some of Adrian Younge’s vintage instruments, but that plan like so many others had to be changed as we got used to the life we now lead. But just because we couldn’t do the show live together at the store the way we envisioned didn’t mean we couldn’t still do it. So, Monique and I set up our individual recording technologies at our respective apartments and recorded the show. What you’ll never hear is the roughly 90 minutes of us just shooting the shit, drinking wine and laughing until we finally got down to business to record what we needed for the show.

Monique is one of my favorite people in LA, someone who makes me laugh harder than practically anyone (some of which was edited out of this show, but quite a lot of chuckles on my end still remain), and she’s got this wild way of being that comes through in virtually everything she does, but especially in her singing and performance (she also hosts the “Tropicali” radio show, which you can catch on Venice’s KTPC 99.1 FM or on her mixcloud page).

After a discussion of “Saudade” and how Monique views it, we start things off with a set of songs that she chose that connected to this feeling, thinking back to discovering Brazilian funky men Paulo Diniz and Miguel De Deus, her first recordings with the collective Mamma Cadela and music from an artist she currently collaborates & tours with, Sessa.

In addition to the set of songs she chose that are emblematic of “Saudade,” Monique performed two songs from her living room for the show, “Painho,” written as she describes during a period of self quarantine years ago, and stripped down to just her vocals and ukulele and “20 Anos Blue” originally recorded by Elis Regina in 1972, but something that reminded Monqiue of her mother, who had the record in her collection, and of her 20s in Brazil just as she was beginning her musical career.

From there, I take over and have my own set filled with Saudade for the Springtime that we’ve missed due to this pandemic, missed road trips to the Bay and my fave record store Groove Merchant, and songs that remind me of times and people I dearly miss from Atlanta to the Bay to here in LA. Saudade is such a rich emotion and feeling that I wouldn’t be surprised if I return to this feeling at a later date…until then, enjoy the show!

Moods In Free Time 003: Saudade – 03-26-2020

Playlist – Moods In Free Time 003: Saudade

{opening theme} The Visitors – The Juggler – In My Youth (Muse)

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Paulo Diniz – Ve Se Pisa No Braseiro – Paulo Diniz (Odeon)

Miguel De Deus – Pode Se Quiemar – Black Soul Brothers (Underground)

Mamma Cadela – Bohemia Sin Calcinha – Mamma Cadela Em Busca Da Verdade (MCK)

Sessa – Lingua Geral – Grandeza (Boiled Records)

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Monique Maion – Interview & Performance – Recorded Live At Her Apartment

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Tim Maia – Primavera – Tim Maia (Polydor)

DatBu – Right On – 12” (Self-Release)

The End Result – Reminiscing – 7” (Motion City)

Smoke – Hank Aaron – Heaven On A Popsicle Stick (Long Play)

Dungen – C. Visar Vagen – Tio Bitar (Kemado)

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{Closing Theme} Tony Williams – Wild Life – Believe It (Columbia)

May 26, 2020May 26, 2020 Moods In Free Time

Moods In Free Time Vol. 2: Excitement…with Poet Harmony Holiday

Our second edition of Moods In Free Time was quite a fated affair. Since discovering her work in the previous Summer, Harmony Holiday was a poet that I knew I wanted to interview. My only problem was no longer having a medium to do so. As soon as I got the word that Artform Radio was going to start at the beginning of 2020, I contacted her and thankfully she was able to swing through for this show. As soon she was locked in, I knew the mood for this month’s addition would be “excitement.” Little did I know how perfect that choice would be…Before leaving home, I was listening to the show preceding mine, where Ben Merlis and Cut Chemist were talking about classic NY records, so I was already excited about seeing one of my all-time favorite DJs in the spot. But when I walked into the Artform Studio to do the show, I was shocked to see that The RZA himself had unexpectedly strolled in to join Merlis & Cut, and was telling old school NY Hip-Hop stories. I’d barely been able to put my head back together (I even mention this in the opening break) by the time it was time to start my show. When Harmony showed up, she was similarly surprised and while I was working through the first set, she went to Linear Labs, Adrian Younge’s adjoining recording label and studio, to meet The RZA and give him some of her poetry. In terms of the music I played in the one set, all of the tracks were ones that I was excited to share with people, a couple of which I’ve featured here. While I was excited to play all of these tunes, a special moment happened when I played “Safe & Sound,” that was only possible because of the fact that we were broadcasting live from the front of a still open record store. While I was playing that song, a guy literally came in from the street to ask what the song it was, a totally unique experience in my radio career, since I’ve always broadcast from “proper” radio stations, and something that I was excited to have potentially happen while doing the show at the Artform Studio.

However, most of the excitement for me of the show was being able to spend time talking with Harmony Holiday (who I highly suggest checking out on twitter here) about her poetics and the influence of music and radical Black politics on her craft. In addition to reading some poetry from her latest book, A Jazz Funeral For Uncle Tom, we also played a couple of excerpts of audio from Sun Ra and Malcolm X (the next day, or the day of for those listening worldwide, marked the 55th anniversary of Malcolm’s assassination) and closed the show on a track from Abbey Lincoln, since one of the many upcoming projects Holiday is working on is a biography of the singer and activist. The excitement of the day was almost too much for me, as you can hear in the final break when I can’t even say Harmony Holiday’s name properly from how scrambled my brain had become trying to deal with what an amazing day it had been. Now that this show is several months old, I can also report, that the excitement continued after the show, as I got to check out what was then unreleased music from Adrian Younge and collaborations he had done with many of the artists who had come into town for their “Jazz Is Dead” series! This pandemic has meant that this was the last time I was down at the Artform Studio, but it definitely was a memorable night. Enjoy the show!

Moods In Free Time 002: Excitement – 02-20-2020

Playlist – Moods In Free Time 002: Excitement

{opening theme} The Visitors – The Juggler – In My Youth (Muse)

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The Jazz Minstrels – Dit Le Burgeoryn – Party! (JAMS)

The Heliocentrics – Burning Wooden Ship – Infinity Of Now (Madlib Invazion)

Flow – Here We Are Again – Flow (CTI)

David Astri – Safe & Sound – Doing It Right (Award Records)

Billy Harper – Priestess – In Europe (Soul Note)

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Harmony Holiday – Interview & Performance – Recorded Live At The Artform Studio

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Abbey Lincoln – Retribution – Straight Ahead (Candid)

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{Closing Theme} Tony Williams – Wild Life – Believe It (Columbia)

May 25, 2020 Moods In Free Time

Moods In Free Time Vol. 1: Joy

{As I prepare for my fifth show on Artform Radio, I’m finally getting the prior four shows up on here…hoping to have the show on it’s own dedicated page, but for now, enjoy Vol. 1 – 4 this week, and look for Vol. 5 on Friday!}

All the way back in January, I was a part of the very first broadcast of Artform Radio on Worldwide FM. Organized by Adrian Younge and the folks at ArtDontSleep, Artform Radio broadcasts (well, it did prior to the ‘Rona pandemic at least) live and direct from the Artform Studio in Highland Park. Each week, there are a number of heavy hitters who also do shows, including Bardo Martinez of Chicano Batman, Josh Kun, Nelson George, Oliver Wang of Soul-Sides.com, as well as the founder, Adrian Younge. When I was first approached about doing a show, I wanted to do something with my monthly hour that was different than what I had been doing with Melting Pot, or previous shows over the years. Coming up with a title that was relatively unique was a struggle in and of itself. For a long time I’d thought “Brilliant Corners,” would be the name of the show, but there seemed to be a few who already used it. Then I thought maybe “Bright Moments,” but ran into the same problem there. About a month before the show’s debut, I was listening to one of my favorite albums by Booker Little, and “Moods In Free Time,” the song that begins the second side of Out Front, just leapt out to me, and once that title became a possibility, it also opened up a theme for the show, where I would focus on particular moods/emotions and highlight tunes that connect to it for me. I don’t really plan to repeat too many of the emotions I choose, but the one that marks this first show, “Joy,” is definitely one that I will come back to. “Joy” is perhaps my favorite feeling, and so with this debut show, the songs chosen are all related to the things that bring me joy in music. This maiden voyage had a few hiccups, which is to be expected with a brand new enterprise, but overall, it’s a fine start to a show that I plan to keep going for a very long time to come…Enjoy!

Moods In Free Time 001: Joy – 01-17-2020

Playlist: Moods In Free Time 001: Joy

{opening theme} The Visitors – The Juggler – In My Youth (Muse)

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Caffe – Falcon – 7” (Good)

Orchestra Poly-Rhytmo De Cotonou – Malin Kpon O – 7” (Albarika Store)

Modelos – Realidad – Realidad (Hispavox)

Muddy Waters – Herbert Harper’s Free Press – Electric Mud (Cadet Concept)

Dungen – Soda – Skit I Alt [7” Instrumental Version] (Subliminal Sounds)

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Broadcast – Man Is Not A Bird – Ha Ha Sound (Warp)

Los Barba – Mi Mercy Cha – 7” (Arieto)

Grupo Ismaelillo – Galaxia – Galaxia (Arieto)

Yachts – Love You Love You – 7” (Radarscope)

Azul y Negro – Fantasia De Piratas – 7” (Mercury)

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Mercury Blue – Toys Of Sapphire ‘N’ Smoke – Mercury Blue (Flaemin-Sapphire)

The Comet Is Coming – Birth of Creation – Trust In The Life Force Of The Deep Mystery (Impulse)

United Future Organization – Spy’s Spice – 3^rd Perspective (Brownswood)

Orlandivo – Beleza Nao Vai Embora – Isto e Dynascope (Nilser)

Albert Ayler – New Ghosts – New Grass (Impulse)

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April 22, 2020 Radio

Tributes to Andy Gonzalez and Charles Mingus on KPFK’s Global Village!

Due to the fact that I’m now teaching from home, this opened up the opportunity to guest host KPFK’s Global Village during the week, where normally I’d be in the middle of classes down in Long Beach. The first hour features music from dearly departed Manu Dibango, as well as a full set in tribute to bassist Andy Gonzalez, who also recently passed away due to Covid-19. In the second hour we pay tribute to Charles Mingus for the entire hour, here on what would have been his 98th birthday. Hoping we’ll be on the KPFK airwaves with more regularity in this moment, but time will tell…for now, enjoy these tunes!

KPFK’s Global Village – 04-22-2020 – 1st Hour
KPFK’s Global Village – 04-22-2020 – 2nd Hour

Playlist:

{opening theme} Boris Gardiner – Melting Pot – Is What’s Happening (Dynamic)

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Manu Dibango – Dangwa – Soul Makossa (Atlantic)

Merceditas Valdes – Yemaya – Orishas (Arieto)

Marinho Castellar e Banda Dissiritma – Verde Clara – S/T (Novo Mundo)

Paco De Lucia – Almoraima – Almoraima (Philips)

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Roberto Hernan – Nubes y Esperanzas – Espana En El Corazon: Pabol Neruda Poemas y Canciones (Lince)

Bembeya Jazz National – Ballake – Special Recueil Souvenir Du Bembeya Jazz National (Editions Syliphone Conakry)

Los Diablos Rojos – El Cha ca rer ro – Al Rojo Vivo (Sono Radio)

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Grupo Folklorico y Experimental Nuevayorquino – Iya Modupue – Concepts In Unity (Salsoul)

Ray Barretto – Tin Tin Deo – Together (Fania)

Eddie Palmieri – Condiciones Que Existen – Sentido (Coco)

Eddie Palmieri – VP Blues – Recorded Live At Sing Sing (Tico)

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Charles Mingus – Hog Callin’ Blues – Oh Yeah (Atlantic)

Charles Mingus – Tonight At Noon – Tonight At Noon (Atlantic)

Charles Mingus – Cryin’ Blues – Blues & Roots (Atlantic)

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Charles Mingus – Duke’s Choice – A Modern Jazz Symposium Of Music and Poetry With Charles Mingus (Bethlehem)

Charles Mingus – Open Letter To Duke – Mingus Ah Um (Columbia)

Charles Mingus – I X Love – Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus (Impulse)

Charles Mingus – Nourogg – A Modern Jazz Symposium Of Music and Poetry With Charles Mingus (Bethlehem)

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Charles Mingus – Myself When I’m Real – Mingus Plays Piano (Impulse)

Charles Mingus – Half-Mast Inibition – Mingus Revisited (Limelight)

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{closing theme} Charles Mingus – Alice’s Wonderland – Wonderland (UA)

April 1, 2020April 1, 2020 Dig Deep

Dig Deep: Flow – Flow – CTI (1970)

Flow – Here We Are Again
Flow – Daddy
Flow – Mr. Invisible
Flow – Summer’s Gone

Now this is an interesting one, picked up at really the only chance I’ve gotten to physically shop for records in 2020, at the Geoffrey Weiss Rappcats pop-up back in January. Weiss is well known in collector circles for having eclectic tastes, and I especially love checking out these kind of collections because you always find some surprises (I’ll be featuring a few more records picked up the same day in coming months). The cover art on this one was intriguing, but what really grabbed my attention was the fact this record was on CTI, but I’d never seen it before. That’s not to say that I really collect much off of the CTI label, but I’ve run into enough records over these past 25+ years of diggin’ to know when I haven’t seen a record before. I became even more intrigued when I checked out the back cover and saw not only this wild picture, sketched by the drummer Mike Barnett, but also that one of the band members was listed as a “lead vocal,” and I couldn’t remember a single CTI album that was a vocal record.

Dropping the needle on the first song “Daddy,” revealed that this definitely didn’t sound like anything I’d ever heard on CTI. While there was a bit of funk to the drums, the sound was more country-psych than the jazz or jazz-funk I was used to from CTI records. “Here We Are Again” definitely had more of a jazzy feel to it, but still is something I’d classify as soft-psych than really being close to Jazz. Flow flowed from one style or genre to another, but none it seemed suited for the CTI sound I’d thought I knew so well.

Turns out, in 1970, when Creed Taylor separated CTI from A&M records and truly became indepedent, there were a short run of records, “The 1000 series,” which including this one, as well as albums from Kathy McCord and Dave Frishberg that also don’t fully fit into the sound we associate with CTI as a label. I’ve only heard parts of those albums, but they share some similarities with this album from Flow, all with vocals, and a style that while it could be called jazzy at times, is clearly not Jazz.

Having solved that minor mystery, helped place the album into a proper context, though I still wonder how a band like this came to Creed Taylor’s attention and what the story was behind them signing with CTI and releasing this album. Mostly though, I’m just thankful I discovered it and learned something new after all these years in the record game.

March 31, 2020 Ephemera

Safe And Sound With David Astri And Friends…

David Astri – Safe And Sound

{Just when I had started to get into a solid groove, you might have noticed that there was a “error” on my website over the weekend. I’m trying to sort out what happened, but at least I now have access and can continue to post, and so…the music continues!}

This record was one of my first purchases here in 2020, and it’s become an almost perfect unintentional anthem given the ways the world has turned. I first heard this song on a rooftop last summer when my friend and DJ Rani D (who as I write this is stuck in Peru!) played it during his set. The moment was almost too perfect and I had to know what the song was that fit the moment so well. For whatever reason, despite how amazing the song was and the immediate effect it had on me, I didn’t buy a copy until a recent romantic connection made me think of it again (sadly things didn’t work out, but at least she knocked me off the fence in regards to getting album). Very little info on David Astri, except for this rather excellent picture of him that is found on the back cover…

There is even less info on the side people and nothing on the lovely vocalist for this song, but it is an amazing tune. It’s a song that since I’ve added it to my collection, I’ve played it on repeat for days on end. I’ve also played it out for folks twice, during my second show on Artform Radio and at a gig supporting Brainstory & Jungle Fire, and both times someone came up to ask about the song. Now that in this moment, at least here in Los Angeles, we’re hunkered down in our homes practicing “physical distancing,” the song works as an anthem for the moment, and a reminder to choose wisely who you let into your space. “Safe & Sound” is the way we have to do things for the foreseeable future folks, take care of yourselves out there.

March 26, 2020 Mixes, Radio

Melting Pot Radio Hour: Top Digs Of 2019

Had meant to maintain my post pace but work and the latest edition of my show for Worldwide FM got a little in the way. So as with the other posts, here’s the long overdue run down of the best vinyl I dug up in 2019. I actually had recorded this over a month ago, but it got lost in the mix (pun intended), and then the whole world changed and so it made sense to recut it and now finally here it is. More than getting this done, I’m looking forward to sharing more things from this year, especially the first three episodes of “Moods In Free Time,” my new monthly radio program. Enjoy the digs!

Melting Pot Radio Hour #18 – Top Digs Of 2019

Playlist:

{opening theme} Boris Gardiner – Melting Pot – Is What’s Happening (Dynamic)

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Jun Mayuzumi – Black Room – 7″ (Capitol)
Franciene King – Two Fools – 7″ (Channel I Recs)
Charisma – Where Do We Go From Here/Yesterday’s Folks – S/T (Roulette)
The New Expression – Don’t Have Time To Lose – Good Clean Rock’n’Roll (Paula)
H.Y. Sledge – Finding It – Bootleg Music (SSS)
Bergendy – Ismeretlen Ember – Egyuttes (Pepita)
Johnny Almond Music Machine – Solar Level – S/T (Deram)

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Cassiano – Onda – Cuban Soul 14 Kilates (Polydor)
The Rwenzori’s – Handsome boy (E Wara) 7″ (Editions Makossa)
Ofo The Black Company – Allah Wakbarr – 7″ (London)
Puglsey Munion – Trouble – Just Like you (J&S Recs)
Spectrum – Milesago – Milesago (Harvest)
Absolute Elsewhere – Earthbound – In Seach Of Ancient Gods (WB)

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The Masterplan – Only You Can Touch This Heart Of Mine – 7″ (Fos Glo)
The Royal Five – Gonna Keep Lovin’ You – 7″ (Tyler)
Beto Strada – Tema De Lampiao – 7″ (BS Discos)
Stanley Cowell – Travelin’ Man – Regeneration (Strata East)
Fred Neil – The Water Is Wide – Bleecker & McDougal (Elektra)
Sergio Ricardo – Labirinto – Arrebentacao (Equipe)

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{closing theme} The Jazz Minstrels – Poopin’ The Sloop – Party (Jams)

March 22, 2020March 22, 2020 Dig Deep

Best Of 2019: Top 5 LPs

This quarantine life finally got me posting on the regular, so the long overdue post about the best LPs dug up in 2019 is now here. Tomorrow comes the “Melting Pot Radio Hour” run down, and then finally I’ll be caught up and moving on to new old music for 2020.

Lee Mason – Shady Blues

So, this is a record that I’ve wanted for over 20 years. Ever since hearing Lootpack’s “Answers,” from back in 1999, and then a year later finding out what the sample was, it’s been on my wantlist. The album is a fairly rare one, sometimes popping up on Ebay or Discogs, but never out in the wild. So when a copy showed up, quite fittingly, at one of Egon’s pop-ups at Madlib’s Rappcats, seeing it there on the wall all sitting pretty, it was a hard thing to pass up. I still trip out on how much of the original beat comes just from this song, and also at just how heavy that bass is on the original.

Absolute Elsewhere – Earthbound

Speaking of West Coast Hip-Hop and Rappcats Pop-Ups, this one came to me from Cypress Hill’s DJ Muggs’ Rappcats sale of his collection. Seemed like people had passed this one up, even though it has label of “incredible samples!” Seeing that, even though I’d never seen it before, I grabbed it quickly and checked it out. Turns out this is inspired by the same material as “Chariots Of The Gods,” but was recorded in 1976 and so it’s spacier than psychedelic, which perfectly fits the West Coast Hip-Hop sound that Muggs helped to shape. Definitely got more to say about this one in a future post.

The New Expression – Don’t Have Time To Lose

Another Rappcats Pop-Up buy, and another one that I’ll have a lot more to say and share in a future post. Really don’t know much about this band, and it’s a mystery why they’re on Paula Records, which was a fairly straight blues label at the time. But the record is a kind of a country, psych, jazz-funk thang. The cover and back (both of which are in the previous post on best covers from 2019) were definitely also a major reason this one is on this list.

Cassiano – Onda

This is another longtime want, though I’m having a hard time remembering where I first heard this silky smooth utterly addicting groove from Brasil’s Cassiano. The copy picked up at the Mr. Bongo Rappcats Pop-Up might not be pristine, but that’s rarely bothered me and “Onda” was without a doubt the song that I listened to most on repeat in 2019 (hell, maybe 2020 too) and few songs have ever filled me such joy.

The Jazz Minstrels – Poopin’ The Sloop

I’ve already written about this record, which was a total surprise when DJ Shadow first dropped the needle on it at his Rappcats pop-up in the Summer last year a couple weeks before my birthday. It’s one of the most interesting “unknown” jazz-funk private press records I’ve ever run into and discovering music like this, and records like this are exactly the reason why I still enjoy sharing music, whether in mixes, in the club, on the radio or here on this blog.