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Al Green |
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Monty Alexander |
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Jurassic 5 |
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Al Green’s “Love And Happiness” is one of those tunes that’s loved by all. Enjoy the original, and consider adding a couple of clever reinterpretations to your MP3 collection.
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Lady Day And John Coltrane
Did You Hear What They Said?
Winter In America (Solo Version)
Back Home (w/Brian Jackson) |
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I’ve been listening to Gil Scott-Heron’s music consistently for decades. I own about eight of his LPs, and have been on the hunt for at least two others. His recent passing merits a proper tribute.
Gil’s music was a gumbo of jazz, blues, R&B, and spoken word — Gil called it “bluesology, the science of how things feel.” He had a gift for melody and was among the most evocative lyricists that emerged from the civil rights movement. I don’t consider Gil to be a great album artist — there are many intolerable tracks in his repertoire — but when the music, lyrics, and personnel clicked (usually when Brian Jackson was involved), the impact was super powerful.
I remember going to see Gil at Yoshi’s Jazz Club in Oakland circa 1998. I am almost sure Brian Jackson performed with him that night (which rarely happened post-1980), but the Internet has not been forthcoming with corroboration. Gil wasn’t all there but it didn’t take more than a few songs for him to find his equilibrium. His voice had become hoarse, yet was no less emotive. I had hoped to see him perform again, but he seldom performed in his later years due to substance abuse and related incarcerations.
Rather than replicate a greatest hits collection, I tried to pick tracks that capture some of the emotions that have coursed through me as I contemplate Gil’s life and career.
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Cochise
North Carolina
Get Yourself Together
Album: Live At Montreux |
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I’ve always dug Les McCann, and when I found this Live At Montreux double LP in a local record store ($5, near mint), I knew it would be quality.
The Montreux Jazz Festival is Switzerland’s prestigious annual event on stunning Lake Geneva. In recent years, Montreux has drifted a bit off brand; for its 44th season, jazz greats such as Coolio, Arcade Fire, and Ricky Martin are on the programme. (To be fair, actual jazz greats such as George Benson, Diana Krall, and Herbie Hancock are also on the bill.)
Les McCann’s Live At Montreux was recorded during an earlier, purer incarnation of the festival, in 1972. Les was already a legend at Montreux — and Switzerland in general — because he had released a hit live album from the festival, 1969′s Swiss Movement.
For his second recording from Montreux, Les brought along bassist Jimmy Rowser, drummer Donald Dean, and percussionist Buck Clarke. Like many jazz artists of the time, Les experimented with electric, amplified instruments and Live At Montreux is a showcase for the many colors and textures of the recently-invented clavinet keyboard.
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“T” Plays It Cool
Cleo’s Apartment
Trouble Man
“T” Stands for Trouble Album: Trouble Man (1972) |
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In ranking the best Blaxploitation soundtracks, the cognoscenti usually select Curtis Mayfield’s Superfly or Isaac Hayes’s Shaft as the best from that era. Maybe James Brown’s Black Caesar. But rarely do I see Marvin Gaye’s Trouble Man soundtrack at the top of the list. SImilarly, I rarely see Trouble Man listed among Marvin’s best LPs.
Both are errors in judgment. Trouble Man was Marvin’s follow-up to the seminal What’s Going On, and is a key milestone in Marvin’s evolution from Motown pop star to bold singer-songwriter. Trouble Man isn’t just a key achievement among Blaxploitation soundtracks, it’s one of Marvin’s most musically-adventurous albums.
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Common (w/Kanye West & John Mayer) |
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Linda Lewis |
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Common has had quite the inconsistent career. But when Kanye West came knocking, Common stepped up his game, resulting in the pretty darn awesome LP Be. I fear Be may end up being the apex of Common’s recording career, but I’m still rooting for one of Chi-town’s finest.
Though Be has a number of enjoyable tracks, I’ve been surprised by how much its third single, "Go" has stuck with me. I think it’s the contrast between the mellow beat and the risqué lyrics that keeps it in rotation.
Kanye makes an able hype man and as for John Mayer, I think his contribution is limited to the echoed "Go" that is looped every two bars or so. (And he gets a songwriting credit?)
I hadn’t heard the Linda Lewis track Kanye sampled in "Go." To be honest, I hadn’t heard of Linda Lewis. But "Old Smokey" is a sweet, feel-good song that is ideally suited to a Sunday morning. Whatever led Kanye to isolate the short electric keyboard breakdown that appears towards the end of the song is a mystery to me, but I’m indebted to Yeezy for leading me to this rare groover.