Synergy Session 4

Mixes August 17th, 2010

I forgot this existed until I dug up some old cd’s while cleaning up the studio. Synergy was like Refuge, except it was a long, long time ago, back in the solely vinyl days.

This still sounds really good, especially for a live recording. And the style is also a fitting compliment to Gaia this Sunday.

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Beanfield – Corso
Vikter Duplaix – Manhood
John Coltrane – Naima (4hero mix)
Chick Corea – The Slide
Angie Stone – Wish I Didn’t Miss You
Seek – Surrender
Gwen Guthrie – Ain’t Nothing Going On But the Rent (dub mix)
Lucy Pearl – Don’t Mess With My Man
Earth, Wind & Fire – Evil
Minnie Riperton – Gettin’ Ready For Your Love
Petal Pusher – Rely On Me
Tortured Soul – How’s Your Life? Part One
Abstract Truth – Get Another Plan
Seek – The Story Of Us
Meikbar – Sunshine
Kaskade – Brighter Day
Banda Favela – Samba 1250 (Alex Phountzi rmx.)
Shaun Escoffery – Let It Go
Nuspirit Helsinki – Get Over

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Refuge #11: Giving you something with jazz

News January 13th, 2010

I had jazz on the mind last week, and was reviving thoughts of doing a Dingwalls style jazz dance party in DC. Or even like Jazz Attitudes in Paris.

Think it could work?

Here are some of the joints I pulled out early in the night when I was in that mood.

Middlewood Sessions – “Fall Back”

Fitting that since I invoked Gilles Peterson above, this was released on his Brownswood label.

Lonnie Smith – “Apex”

Records like this are why I still buy vinyl.

Jukka Eskola – “1974″

What a gorgeous smoker of a tune from this young Finnish trumpeter. This is one of those songs that you wonder where it’s been all your life once you hear it. It’s a bit hard to find. First released as a b-side to the “Buttercup” 12-inch in the image above, it was also on his 2005 debut album as well as a Raw Fusion compilation. I must thank Tigallo for putting me up on this one. Homie’s got a jazz ear too.

Every Wednesday I’ve always got more treats to share.

refugeflyer_web

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Refuge #7: Do you know these records?

News December 9th, 2009

In case you missed Refuge last week, please add these to your personal rotation. You’ll be a much happier individual.

Nuspirit Helsinki – “Silent Steps”

nuspirithelsinki

I can’t believe it’s going on eight years since I first got hip to the wave of future hybrid jazzy soul that was rolling out of Scandinavia. The Gothenburg scene was popping in Sweden. Copenhagen was kragenoff. Even Finland was getting it in. The first Nuspirit Helsinki album is so mandatory. It’s held up really well over time.

Mica Paris – “I Should’ve Known Better”

micaparis12

The B-side wins again, which is why I posted the 12-inch label instead of an album cover displaying this luscious singer. Remember when the flip side of every single contained an exciting new adventure? This tune dropped in 1990 but was never officially released on an album until 1998. By then it was a well-established classic. I feel like I can never be a big enough stan for black Brit soul. Did y’all know Mica dropped a new record this year? Honey had the scoop on that this summer.

J. Rawls – “Hebejeebees”

jrawls_LCP2

Sometimes I feel like the Liquid Crystal Project jazz albums by this Ohio producer best known for his hip-hop work with Lone Catalysts are some sort of well-guarded secret. If that’s the case, they’re a secret I’d rather share.

Antonio Adolfo – “Cascavel”

antonioadolfo_viralata

I would have missed out on this tasty slice of funky Brazilian fusion jazz if it weren’t for Gilles Peterson. Compilations are your friends.

Want more? Come hang.

refugeflyer_web

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Digging in the crates: Tamara In Wonderland

Joints, Mixes December 8th, 2009

tami_in_wonderland_front_sm

Since Tami is dropping heat rocks left, right and all over the place, it seemed like a good time to take it back.

We did this project in ‘05 after we did an EP in 2003. She wanted something to hustle at WMC that year and it worked better than we could have anticipated.

The Alice in Wonderland theme was Kat’s idea. Ed handled the interlude segments (lady on the Metro = Ed’s mama, Metro conductor = Ed) and I recorded all of the re-envisioned takes on some of our favorite beats at the time then assembled it in mix form. Listen for early versions of the big records that Tami is now known for.

Tamara Wellons – Tamara in Wonderland

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1. Ferry Ride (reprise) feat. Naima Jamal
2. Caught Up
3. Hold Me
4. Don’t Change
5. Can’t Be Found
6. Blue Skies
7. All This Time
8. Oh Well
9. Free
10. Moonwalk (acapella)
11. Like Rain feat. K’Alyn & Black Picasso
12. And So….

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Refuge #1: A nice start

News October 22nd, 2009

Old friends and new came through to sip, chat and boogie. This experiment just might work. As promised, every week I’ll recap a few highlights. Hopefully this will become a running conversation. What records do YOU remember and want to know more about?

Vibe Conductor Pick:

As much as I like to smash off a party, I also enjoy just sharing tunes with a room full of folks socializing and appreciating the sounds. Early in the night I dropped one of my favorite tracks from the Jazz Refreshed compilation, Femi Temowo’s “Wood & Strings”.

Click the album cover to listen to the project in its entirety.

jazzrefreshed_vol1

When I read that Femi took up jazz guitar after being inspired by Wes Montgomery, I wasn’t surprised. Here’s why:

Peoples’ Pick:

Slakah the Beatchild – “D.A.N.C.E.”

I ended the night with this one, and for those who haven’t heard it in my sets and mixes since this summer, it was an instant earworm. Toronto’s got some freshly ground goodness brewing these days. Been seeing Slakah the Beatchild in album credits, on blogs and in music press for a minute.

Nostalgia Pick:

Brownstone – “If You Love Me”

Sometimes you just want the ladies to get really happy and sing along really loud. We DJs enjoy that.

Digging In The Crates Pick:

Madonna – “Human Nature”

Forgot about this one, didn’t ya? Still goes hooard in the clurb. Word to Madge.

See you next week, right? Of course!

refugeflyer_web

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Pretty Flaco and the Saga of Casa Forte

Science May 14th, 2009

Mos Def is about to bust us all upside our collective nuggets with this new record. Quiet Dog is already banoodles. Now there’s this joint:

As soon as the first stanktastic bar kicked in, I bugged, and not just because Dante was rhyming like Ali hitting the speed bag in his prime. This bamma pulled a Ghostface and straight rhymed over a whole existing song! One of my favorite songs by a group I first got hip to on my trip to Brazil last year. Vinyl heads on the internets were already on the case, digging up the original Banda Black Rio joint for comparison.

I would have known about this if I actually went to Mos Def shows because he’s been rocking this joint live for like the past five months. At this point, I wouldn’t be mad if he did a whole album rhyming over funky, contrapuntal jazz fusion classics. Some Return to Forever maybe? Weather Report? Head Hunters! Let’s go!

But before I get carried away, let’s take a moment to trace the origins of a tune that Mos also discovered (and kirked out over) on a trip to Brazil.

edulobo

“Casa Forte” was originally written and recorded by Edú Lobo for his North American debut Sergio Mendes Presents Edú Lobo. Lobo was already pushing the development of Musica Popular Brasileira after building on the work of Jobim and Gilberto but despite his important contributions to bossa nova, his acoustic rendering of “Casa Forte” takes a back seat to the many cover versions of what is now a standard.

A few of my favorites:

foolonhill

Sergio Mendes gives it a pretty straight interpretation, but with the trademark vocal style of Brasil ‘66. (listen / buy)

storiestotell

Legendary vocalist Flora Purim’s take is less pretty and a bit psychedelic. She gives the tune a wild edge. (listen / buy)

como_e_porque

Ellis Regina lends a slightly mournful feel to her version and her rhythm section sounds like they’d also been playing some bop over the course of the recording session. (listen / buy)

jackson_conti

Madlib teamed up with original Azymuth drummer Ivan “Mamão” Conti for the Jackson Conti project. Their rendition of “Casa Forte” puts the samba percussion up front and features what sounds like a melodica running through a wah pedal carrying the main melody of the tune. Probably Madlib’s idea. While he was high. Loving the keyboard work on this. (listen / buy)

And finally, DMV beat scientist Nick Tha 1da snuck in a version of “Casa Forte” on his Bossa Bang! mixtape last year. Since it’s a seamless combination of vinyl finds and re-worked productions, I’ve had the damnedest time ID’ing the origin*. Maybe I’ll ask him next time I see him. I ain’t too proud to train-spot. Click the cover above to download the whole project.

Update:
*Nick came through! Crate-diggers never reveal their secrets, but I guess he was feeling generous that day. Dig up a copy of this record and you’ll find another unique Casa Forte to add to your collection.

brazilianoctopus

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Res with E44 & DJ Stylus, Thurs 4/23

Gigs April 19th, 2009

res_e44

I’ve hinted here and there about this jazz project I’ve been involved in. The cat’s officially out of the bag now. Check out the myspace page for E44 and give a listen to our EP in the music player.

Res with E44 & DJ Stylus
April 23, 2009, 8:30 pm
Liv
2001 14th St NW, WDC
$20

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Cop This: Tamara Wellons – Life Is

News October 28th, 2008

LISTEN:

WATCH:

READ:
Bounceworthy: Tamara Wellons (Soulbounce.com)
Underrated Female Soul Singer Spotlight: Tamara Wellons (SITKOL)
Soul Watch: Tamara Wellons (Honeysoul.com)

LINK UP:
TamaraWellons.com
myspace.com/TamaraWellons

PURCHASE:
Traxsource

EXPERIENCE:

October 29, 2008
Bohemian Caverns
2001 Eleventh Street NW WDC 20001
Doors open at 7pm, Show starts at 8pm

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Digging in Bahia

Science September 2nd, 2008

digging in Bahia

I’ve been back for a while so I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I’m not going to get around to detailing all the historical, cultural and social experiences I had in Bahia. This weekend I carved out some time to hit a pile of not yet listened to vinyl so I can at least post the digging wrap-up of my trip (with covers, since that’s a big part of the fun.)

Unfortunately, the holy grail remains outside of my grasp, even though I did visit their hometown. I saw a couple of vinyl copies that cats were not trying to part with and it’s been out of print forever. I’ll probably have to find a questionable Japanese bootleg or something.

I didn’t have much room to bring stuff back to the U.S. so I kept my aspirations low. I scouted out four spots and managed to hit three of them. One of them had massive stock but everything was too beat to be worth buying. Record condition was a recurring problem that I had been warned about.

digging in Pelourinho

Right around the corner is another spot I highly recommend to anyone traveling in Salvador. Cana Brava is all CD so it caters to you normal folks that don’t share the wax addiction. Pardal runs the store with his wife and he’s very helpful and knowledgeable. We ended up talking music for so long that I almost forgot to shop. But on impulse I came away with…

Banda Black Rio – Gafieira Universal (CD) [Basically the Brazilian Earth, Wind & Fire. I saw the afros and the disc pretty much jumped off the shelf into my hand. My hunch was rewarded by not a single fast-forwardable track on the whole record. Word to reissues. They've got four other albums that you can find with some due diligence.]

The main transaction went down in this random closet of a store in Barra. The mission posed several challenges. I had to whittle down a huge stack to a handful of critical purchases while dealing with a language barrier, no turntable to screen the records and large holes in my knowledge about the artists.

Then I had to haggle. I was somewhat concerned that I might have been hustled but my gut told me that the proprietor was a serious music head who recognized a kindred spirit. As I dug and asked questions in infant level Portuguese, he went deep into the stacks pulling more stuff and explaining it to me. I definitely paid more than the pieces would be worth in the U.S. but I haggled him down by a significant amount, had fun and most importantly, learned a lot in the process. That’s worth a few reais. Here’s the haul:

Egberto Gismonti – Corações Futuristas (LP) [Fusion bordering on free jazz. Definitely bugged out. I asked for something like Chick Corea and Azymuth and this was the recommendation. Apparently out of print and not often seen stateside.]

Miucha & Antonio Carlos Jobim (LP) [Sweet bossa jazz that's been reissued on CD.]

Olodum – A Música Do Olodum Banda Reggae (LP) [The sound of Salvador and an organization for community activism as well as partying. They even reminded Mike that he's black welcomed MJ with open arms.]

Cesar Camargo Mariano, Victor Assis Brasil, Helio Delmiro – Performance (LP) [Electric jazz cats I'd never seen or heard of. Quite luscious with killer guitar action. This is going to yield some juicy beat fodder. I think I made a come-up.]

Zezé Motta – Dengo (LP) [Lightly funky post-'70s tropicalia with pop accents from this major brazilian actress who also had a singing career.]

Elis Regina – Elis (LP) [If you're ever at a loss for a place to start exploring Brazilian music, you can't go wrong with Pimentinha. Her tone and phrasing are unforgettable]

MPB-4 – Antologia (LP) [This is a 1974 compilation of MPB (otherwise known as Música Popular Brasileira) and it's quite a goldmine. It sounds like an in-house vocal group at the record label doing medleys of the works of significant composers but I have to study up more to get the back story.]

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The Pilgrimage

Science July 28th, 2008

After funneling huge chunks of my income to Dusty Groove for years, I finally had a chance to visit them in person. I’ve been to bigger spots and have had transcendent digging experiences elsewhere but I’ve not had a more significant, extended relationship with any shop outside of DC than Dusty Groove. They put an enormous amount of care into their stock and that discerning hand is prominently reflected in my collection. For this trip, I had to really blind myself to the beckoning shelves of enticing re-issues and left field jazz and soul bits from around the world. I could order all that stuff online from them like I usually do. If I was going to be there in person I had to focus on things that I’d miss if I weren’t putting my fingers through the bins. And I also had to grab a few instant gratification joints that I might not see again for a while.

IG Culture presents Zen Badizm (CD) [Another one that I had to find out about from Jahsonic.]

Beady Belle – Belvedere (CD) [This group CAN DO NO WRONG with me. I've been a stan since 2001 and they're completely incapable of making anything that isn't stunning. What I love about them is that every album is a unique experience that touches different styles from the others. You really never know what you're going to hear every time they drop a new record. Most of my favorite artists share this same characteristic. So many fans want their favorite groups to re-hash the stuff they love best. I prefer a gift-wrapped surprise package.]

D’Angelo – Live At the Jazz Cafe, London (CD) [More Japanese import action.]

Zo! & Tigallo – Love the 80’s EP (CD) [Y'all know what it is. And these joints are selling out everywhere too.]

Carmen McRae – You’re Lookin’ At Me: A Collection of Nat King Cole Songs (LP) [Sometimes they just jump out at you from the dollar bin.]

De La Soul – Buddy & Ghetto Thang (12″) [Don't see that picture cover too often. Might just frame this one for wall display]

Def Jef – Droppin’ Rhymes On Drums (12″) [Etta James + dancers in bleached denim + fast rap = mandatory vid embed]

K9 Posse – Ain’t Nothin’ To It (12″) [YESSS!!! I was on a hot streak. Word to Vernon.]

Phase N’ Rhythm – Swollen Pockets/Hook-N-Sling (12″) [I knew I could finish my odyssey at this point. I'd been looking for this for a long time. Wasn't cheap either, but worth it. It's out of print and I caught a promo. R.I.P. Paul C.!]

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