Frank Foster "Basie is Our Boss"



Quality Sahib-esque piece of free flowing jazz action, like Charlie Rouse on a good day. I found this in the same place as the Linc Chamberland LP "A Place Within"; what a shinning day for jazz that was. This is Samba Blues by Frank Foster ...

Samba Blues

Xose Manoel Conde "Blue Berra Chora"

oooh ... first heard this and thought it crap but thought "bollocks" and bought it for the break. Now the bastard's gone and crept on me like a kung-fu move. Weird gear.

Here's the track that stopped me ...

Ao Pior Morrechese

Granada record fair April 3 2005

My first record fair, which came during a blistering weekend of parties. Monkeyfunk on Friday which took healthy chunks out of Saturday too. Then Saturday night I finished up my reggae gig around 4am and then went off to the dancehall dancing contest until 7. Whenever my energy flagged I listened to the 12" of Hugh Mundell's "Lightening and Thunder" on the iPod. It was the shear curiousity of attending a record fair that kept me going, and a boat load of ginger tea and coffee. I had about 4 hours in this record fair and was the first punter there. Quite a lot of variety in the boxes but nothing heart stopping. I bought a few things to sell, took a punt some reggae and after fingering every record in there headed home for sleep. Perhaps the best result was getting the names and addresses of dealers on the coast who attended the fair. Here are the records I picked up ... all minty

(Note: Stop Jazz is a Spanish reissue label that was active in the 1980's. They did a commendable job of reprinting rare jazz records from the 60's and 70's)

Syreeta "To Know You Is To Love You/Happiness" Tamla Motown single (Spain), picture sleeve.
Eddie Louiss "Our Kind of Sabi" MPS LP (Stop Jazz Spain) ... with John Surman & Daniel Humair.
Frank Foster "Basie is Our Boss" Chess LP (Stop Jazz Spain)
Duke Jordan and Sadik Hakin "East and West of Jazz" CP Parker Records LP (Discophon Spain)
Art Blakey Quartet "A Jazz Message" Impulse LP (Hispavox Spain)
Alice Stuart "Full Time Woman" America Fantasy LP

... and some reggae ..

Dean Fraser and Chariot Riders "Born To Love You (Instrumental)" / Derrick Harriot and The Tamlins "Born to Love You (vocal)" Hawkeye 12"
Exodus Supreme "Steppin' in the Future" Exodus Supreme Music LP
Prince Buster "Three of the Best" Blue Beat 12" EP
The Royals "Israel Be Wise" Ballistic Records LP
Greyhound "Leave The Reggae To Us" Transatlantic Records LP

I was buying 'blind' without a portable record player so doubtless some of these are a bit crap, but I've high hopes. I knew the Syreeta track before, nice enough bit of seventies soul recently covered by Greyboy for a Ubiquity release. Not that rare on LP but I think this 7" is a bit more elusive. That was it for digging this weekend. Off to a small town in Malaga this Sunday - fingers crossed.

Los Granadians

Los Granadians - El Temperamental Sonidode - Liquidator Music 2004 (Spain)

Lively local band from Granada, pumping out ska and funk and getting a good bit of work around the country and further afield. Good luck to them. I'm liking this one - Teddy Dos Dedos Garcia - because of its bright organ playing and general upward motion. I can picture the lads having a bit of fun with this in the studio and live gigs. For DJing in the abstract it get's the pseudo-funk crowd going and lifts a room marvelously - quite like Bobby Shad's version of I Want You Back or a good "Blow Up" style KPM track, together with the same moog swooshes in parts. The rest of the album stands up better in some places than others, with some winning "boss sound" reggae numbers similar to the Upsetters seventies work on Camel. Seems like the album failed to take internationally.

--- I'll post an image of the cover art from the LP soon ---

Listen to Teddy Dos Dedos Garcia

Robert Mavounzy/Emilien Antile

Four-track EP (Disques Debs, Guadeloupe)

Robert Mavounzy Quartet - L'Amnou En Nous / Henri Te Vle Maye
Emilien Antile Quartet - A Dans On Graine De / On Bon Joune
Singer - Alain Montserrat

What a beauty, exactly my cup of tea at the moment. Nustling on the back on this EP from Guadeloupe (home of so much good jazz) is a track that ripped a smile from me when first I heard it at the back of the Recycling Shop in Granada. The price on the back of the cover was in pesatas so it had been there a while. I wonder how many fingers attached to different tastes had slid past it before I found it. A precious gem, a diamond, it jumped at me. The cover shows exactly the kind of carnival party I'd like to jump around at, huge 'papier' heads, masks, tropical sun going down, rum flowing - bring it on, the more the better. Henri Te Vle Maye is the track, I'm assuming Henri is Henri Debs, the Disques Debs label owner, but perhaps its a song about the milkman. Lovely anyway. Thank you.

Listen to Henri Te Vle Maye

Simone LP

Simone Self-titled LP on CBS Spain 1974

Keys - J. C. Calderon
Guitar - J. Seijas
12 String Guitar & Percussion - H. Herrero

Arranged by Calderon, produced by the band members, distributed by CBS out of Madrid, probably Spain only but that's a guess.

Digging Notes

I'm not much into psyche but this one stopped me during a recent dig. The track is "Gente". Good beat and a few changes, and I like the way it finishes. The horns do it for me too, with a sound not a million miles away from one of them there Jazzbizness comps. A nice fish then! There is a bit of noise on the intro, which has since been cleaned off. Shame I can't be arsed to record it again but there you go.

Listen to the track

Gente

First Monkeyfunk party in Granada

Slow progress but progress none the less. This Friday I'll be playing my first funk sets in Granada at a club called Afrodisia. It's being done under the Monkeyfunk banner (www.monkeyfunk.net). Finger's crossed - bit worried about the slow promotion effort going on - flyers only. But this place is usually pretty busy and I'm sure they'll be into it. Some of the fresh tunes I'll play ...

Vivian Reed "Walk on My Side" Epic
Hard Rock Jackson "Soul Walkin" VAM
Orlando Lopez "Francisco Kid" (from the Mr. Mazacote's LP though I'm playing it off a CD-R for my sins)
Robert Mazouny "Henri Te vle Maye" Disques Debs EP
Herbie Williams "Now That The War is Over" El Toro
Shirlean Williams "This is a Song" El Virtue
Soul Suspects "Handle It" (Black Prince)

And some of the classics ...

Gil Scot Heron "Its Your World", Biosis Now "Independant Bahamas", Della Reese "It was a Very Good Year", Lou Rawls "What is this thing called love?" etc ....

... along with a round up new reissues, comps etc and fresh sounds. Should be fun, I'll be dancing in the DJ box to the Prolifics "Guts" or Jeanette White "No Sunshine" .... who knows, lets see what happens. Should be a good weekend - there's a record fair on Sunday too. Might be a weekend of booty!