The sound of the crates is blazing across the airwaves and the lightning storm is headed directly for your ears as we embark on this mix on another perfect early spring night in the Amelia dungeon. Supa Soul stands poised in front of me moving in dance step between the ones and twos as he launches our benevolent funk cooker, “Is It Good Enough For Ya”. Nu-Sound Express LTD from the Wah Wah records compilation gets things rolling on the A side of our own March madness, a “thousand man” march on stage that immediately sets sail into fast and fierce winds of bold steppin’…swoosh through more high intensity and into the poised and controlled hot funk of “Mystery Of Black”. Following through with two treats from Rudy Ray Moore and Nina Simone, Supa Soul breaks to some “Gossip” for ya’ll to heighten the absolute, into the northern soul dance hall stomper! Roy Ayers gives a magical impulse of pure Jesus love while Lenis Guess leaves no doubt that “Super Woman” will makes you feel boundless on your feet, and maybe in the air if you’re really feelin’ it. The show continues with a groovy dive bomb, spreading soul into the forefront in these later minutes with some “Cold Grits” and “My Life”. In finale, Etta James delivers what should conceivably be a classic, but that domain remains across the atlantic with our frenzy music collecting British counter-parts. And, so it remains a quite uncommon listen here in the states; but let’s make it clear it should become a frenzy!
“Is it Good Enough For Ya”….
Ain’t IT Good Enough – New Sound Express LTD.
Do The Football – Acres of Grass
Storm Warning – Double O’ Domingo
Let A Woman Be A Woman/Let A Man Be A Man – Dyke And The Blazers
Peace, Love Not War – Johnny King And The Fatback Band
Mystery Of Black – The Shades Of Black
Express Yourself – Charles Wright And The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band
Put Your Weight On It – Rudy Ray Moore
Funkier Than A Mosquitos Tweeter – Nina Simone
Gossip – Cyril Neville
If This Is Love (I’d Rather Be Lonely) – Eddie Spencer
He’s A SuperStar – Roy Ayers Ubiquity
Stone Thing – Alvin Cash
It’s Your Thing – Cold Grits
My World – Lee Fields
Seven Day Fool – Etta James
The vault has been temporarily transferred to the OTR (Over The Rhine) site and in good time as I’ve needed to re-work this mix for quite awhile now. This one is a tribute to Chef/DJ Supa Soul’s coming little one and so as a prelude to the beautiful being that will soon embrace our presence, I really needed to define a mix that could stand in honor, and help him/her get some good dance steps in before greeting this world. So, in the the company of the urban skyline, a perfectly mild spring night, some red wine and the mental tuning fork in the saddle, Raoul has taken musical form. The Afro beat intro appropriately calls out the meaningfulness of this life event and most certainly moves into the playful abundance of “The Living Is Easy”. The following couple tracks frame in a pure atmosphere of funk induced frolic, headed up by the local Jive Turkeys who always come on in classic fervor, purely talented young artists; as later stages of the mix pay homage to a couple icons of funk and soul, Mayfield and Brown, the break beat of “In The Middle” is a clear reminder of the prolific potential of sampling quality in James Brown productions, and “Get Down” is as cool as I’ve heard them come in the Curtis Mayfield line up. The salute to young Raoul ends with an anthem “This Land is Your Land” from Sharon Jones as a hopeful emblem that this country may hold enough integrity in the coming years to embrace his/her future with a promise of opportunity, respect, love, and a worthwhile appreciation for groove in the heart………………C-Sinclair
Track list
Kaleta And Zozo Afrobeat – Gete
Guts – And the Living Is Easy
Spittin’ Image – JB’s Latin
The Jive Turkeys – Chickenfoot
Ray Baretto – Ritmo Sabroso
Jimmy James Thomas – I Can’t Dance
Jessie Hill – Ooh Poo Pah Doo
Henry Brooks – Mini Skirt
Don Willis Spoon Band – I’m Gonna Fool You
Curtis Mayfield – Get Down
Rudy Ray Moore – Put Your Weight On It
James Brown – In The Middle
Deloris Ealy – Deloris Is Back With Jerome And His Band
Edwin Birdsong – The Uncle Tom Game
Horace Family – God Will Dry My Weeping Eyes
Sharon Jones And The Dap Kings – This Land Is Your Land
Some nights are made of legend. One recent February night became such an example. It was an early celebration of spring as the cousins filed into town from Columbus and we got things casually kicking in the vault when Supa Soul’s mind felt suddenly possessed by the piles of records that he had been recently going back through for a listen. In short form, he masterminded a mental playlist that didn’t speak of titles, nor theme, but simply that knowing formula when a man steps up to his game, when a woman meets center stage, and whatever is set forth is an immediate call to history; timeless space where step and gravity have no boundary and all unfolds in an instant and then is shared as folklore. This is what I recall: a bold entry of overlapping pulse and voice coming into the foreground, turning over into the psychadelic landscape of Martinez’s congas and ripping horn section, paced kept and slightly transformed from the high voltage afro beat to one gracefully connected through the deep knowing voice of Nina Simone, break beat slow down swept away by the Brown produced Honky Tonk funk of the 60’s, clarified with some of Eddie Bo’s finest and that masterful pulse of Hook and Sling that has tailored the art of hip hop sampling for an era……..presenting, Sexual Bulldog.
Intro. – Sweet Sweetbacks Badass Song
Afro Temple – Morten Cohen Loves Latin Percussion
Nina Simone – Funkier Than A Mosquito’s Tweeter
James Polk And The Brothers – Just Plain Funk
Bill Doggett – Honky Tonk Popcorn
Eddie Bo – The Hook And Sling
Cathleen And The Groovers – Can We Groove
The Rhythm Machine – Can We Groove
Star-Tels – Exterminator Man
Innersouls – Just Take Your Time
Freddi Hench And The Soul Setters – I Wanna Dance Dance Dance
Jimmy Lane And The Incredibles – Deal With It
Jimmy Norman – Gangster Of Love
The Loosen Ups feat. Missy Ray T – You Got Me All Cramp’d Up
The Soul Saints Orchestra – Bag Of Soul
Dimension 5 – Nothing To Do
Click the underlined link for an MP3 file: Sexual Pitbull
So, here it is folks, the re-surfacing of the blendomatic duo at QCC. We know that the music on our site here has been laying dormant for months, the trigger of the ever ready turn table needles growing sleepy in our absence, but the shortest story behind our disappearence is that we have returned with a set from the vault that we felt deeply inspired to create one October evening. After realizing the months departure away from our posts, Chef Supa Soul and I conspired to piece together a mix that was scientific in its formula for ear ecstasy, and woven like the silk garments of our Egyptian ancestors. The result, well, you be the judges though we have celebrated it with a few close companions and a series of craft brews that we like to open throughout our days in the midwest and sip or gulp while we pay homage to the waxidermy of our modestly luxuriant collection. In light of its title, we do understand that the huddle, and this one was certainly a long standing huddle, is only preparation for the freedom and life of the game that is played each day and for you hopefully to the tunes of this here mix of motion in funk and soul. So, enjoy the beats and the flavor of tempo and timelessness in this here collection…starting with some of gospels best expressions that will make them legs wanna get up and move into the dip and strut!
Track list:
The Mighty Voices of Wonder – I Thank the Lord
Syl Johnson – Ode To Soul Brother
The Coasters – Love Potion #9
Joe Cuba Sextet – El Pito
Lee Fields – Stand Up
Benjamin Herman – Skunkaholic
Latin Breed – Hard To Handle
Akebe Shakedown – Hard Steppin’
Shades of Black – The Mystery of Black
Eddie Owens – Determination
Monopoly Ltd. – Underdog’s Child
Vern Blair Debate – Superfunk
T.M.G’s – The Hatch
Pieces of Peace – Pass It On
Trevor Dandy – Is There Any Love
It’s always a treat when you get to prime a grateful and easy going sunday brunch crowd for a seasoned mariachi trio. And, so, thanks to our close friend Bryan Dilsizian, and Comet owner Dave Cuningham, we were given the cue to bring in the late morning with a blend of Latin and Afro beat just as the kitchen pulled up their sleeves and the bar offered its quality variety of beers, spirits, and a genuine bloody marys to a the packed crowd at this classic Hamilton Ave. establishment in Northside.
After an hour or so of slowly turning up the volume on tracks including Bronx River Parkway’s “Mas Y Mas”, “El Pito” from the Joe Cuba Sextet, Preston Epps “Afro Mania”, and La Lupe’s “Fever” the mariachi made short work of their arrival and tuning and starting into a happy birthday salute for house employee Ale’ within minutes and continuing without pause for the next hour and a half. Joe Cuba Preston Epps La Lupe
At the conclusion of the event, Supa Soul and I were happily reminded how and with whom we like to spend our earlier Sundays and have coordinated some follow up gigs at the Comet that will come as TBA in the near future so watch for and come out to a perfect Sunday morning with tasty treats from the house and the music to tap your fork to!
Supa Soul and I put this mix together nearly a month ago as tribute to all the mothers out in the world on their big day. The session, a funky feast featuring all female vocalists, is now our delayed dedication as our work calenders seemed to explode, postponing the inevitable. But alas, here it is. So enjoy this most recent series in our all live 45 mixes!
Myra Barnes – The Message From The Soul Sisters
Betty Davis – Shoo-B-Doop And Cop Him
Gladys Knight and The Pips – Daddy Could Swear, I Do Declare
Gloria Taylor – Grounded, Part 1
Marie “Queenie” Lyons – Fever
Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings – Pick It Up Lay It In The Cut
Naomi Shelton – Wind Your Clock
Etta James – Tell Mama
Irene Reid – Dirty Old Man
Ann Peebles – Somebody’s On Your Case
Erma Franklin – Open Up Your Soul
Deloris Ealy & The Roadrunners Band – It’s About Time I Made A Change
Marsha Gee – Peanut Duck
Reginald Milton and The Soul Jets – Clap Your Hands
James Gadson is a man with a serious repertoire of musical influence. His recording in the funk and soul sector began in the late 1960’s most notably with Charles Wright’s 1st Watt’s 103rd St. Band and Dyke and the Blazers. Since that time he has played with funksters, soulsters, and rockers all over and continues to be a strong presence in the drumming world.
Gadson was born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1939, the son of jazz drummer Harold Gadson. He started learning the free jazz form of drumming very early on and when he first started performing in the studio he felt that it was unimaginable to charge for his time because he “could not keep a steady pattern.” So, Gadson did what most phenomenal musicians have done at a changing point in there careers, he played and played. “I practiced a little bit, but I lived in an apartment, so I couldn’t do too much. But I was playing constantly”.
In short time, he was getting recognition in LA, aspiring to several memorable tracks with Dyke and the Blazers including \”Let A Woman Be A Woman\” later sampled by Public Enemy on their track, “Welcome to the Terrordome”. From here Gadson and at least one of the other Blazers formed the first 103rd Street Watts Band with Charles Wright after front man “Dyke” Christian was fatally shot in March of 1971.
Soon, the recordings of famous tracks with Charles Wright were produced including “Express Yourself”, “What Can You Bring Me” (a recent bargain beat series highlight at Queen City Crates) and “Loveland” where Gadson drums and sings. The dissolution of the first 103rd St. band became a quick segway into the drummer’s fast growing success. For, soon after, Gadson met up with legendary Bill Withers to both play and produce on the 1972 LP Still Bill on Sussex records that represented the classic “Lean On Me” and the uber sampled funk hit “Kissing My Love”.
And, well, the train keeps on running from here because while concurrently working with more productions on the Sussex label, another stop away Gadson started moving onto the Motown scene where he found appeal through the likes of Contractor Ben Barrett and arranger James Carmichael. During his first studio session Gadson was matched with the Jackson’s for a take of “Dancing Machine”. “We were out there creating, and I put that 8th-note hop in, and they said, “Hey, do that again.” They liked what I was doing, and they said, “Let’s keep him because he has good time.” And then the song became a hit.”
There are many more highlights that can be written about James Gadson. Over his lifetime he has played one or more parts in a collection of 300 gold records. More recently he has collaborated with Beck, Paul McCartney and Ray Charles and all along his appeal and influence since the start as an informal free jazz student has been the passion and zeal to perform, offer his experience and, at times, fuse different elements that he had mastered. He has made his career by endlessely playing, listening, playing and and re-inventing bit by bit, all the while keeping the fundamental core simple. As he has said when asked about creating, “Understand what it is, and simplify. Most grooves, especially for dance music, are very simple. Even so, to learn them, you have to slow them down. A lot of times we do all these rudimental things to see how fast we can play. I think you have to slow it all down and simplify it. Then you can kind of feel whether it’s danceable or not.”
Most recently, Gadson collaborated in a venture by producer and musician B+ on a documentray called KeepInTime. It serves as a collaborative tribute to lengendary drummers Gadson, Earl Palmer, Paul Humphrey (Flea Market Funk Highlight!), and is dedicated to Roy Porter who was callled in to contribute but died before funding was available to create this memorable video piece. As the session warms up the three drum legends are seated together and share the room with dj’s Babu (Dilated Peoples) and J ROCC of the Beat Junkies. At first the masters on the ones and twos do a brief sound sampling for the drum fathers of funk, soul and jazz, where an interesting series of expressions comes from the old masters. Then, the film progresses into a collective session where the masters of old and new play together, co-reating a live fusion of the original break beats and the sampling talent on vinyl. As the performance moves on the talent and diversity of the blending becomes more and more apparent, Cut Chemist makes an appearence and it is clear by the end that that drum legends have developed a certain respect for the splice scientists on vinyl. A big thanks goes out to all involved in this project shown below, a dedication to the brilliant beats of old and new.
The musical samples posted on this blog are for educational purposes only. If you like what you hear, please support the artist and local music store by picking up the record or cd. Sound files will be available for a limited time and will then be moved to an inactive storage space. If you need a file removed please let us know. All mixed sound sessions are subject to copyright 2009-2010, Queen City Crates.
