TROUBLE OVER HERE… TROUBLE OVER THERE… TROUBLE ALL OVER THIS ATMOSPHERE

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Paul Brad
Trouble Funk's 'Big Tony ' Fisher

Trouble Funk’s ‘Big Tony ‘ Fisher

“For out-and-out Funk, it does NOT get better than this!” proclaimed percussionist/deejay Snowboy after Friday night’s triumphant return of Washington DC’s Trouble Funk to London town. Having already waxed lyrical about that most memorable encounter with Trouble Funk on the very first visit to these shores back  in the 1980s it seemed unlikely that that the DC crew could live up to an experience amplified by 25 years of story telling. That said, I’d been looking forward to this session for months and a combination of Snowboy’s informed enthusiasm and a knowledge that Trouble Funk have rocked hard core, inner city, African American audiences week in week out with their percussion driven, call and response funk for over three decades was enough to allay any reservations one might have had.

In fact, Big Tony and the Trouble Funk crew had no problem in transforming a north London town hall ballroom into a hands in the air, DC style Go Go session. Trouble Funk are part of an African America’s live music lineage and like the bands of eras past who toured the length and breadth of the States playing blues, rhythm & blues, jazz, soul and funk playing to hard working people and they know how to entertain.

Band leader ‘Big Tony’ Fisher has got instant gravel voiced gravitas and clearly enjoyed his one-off duel with their rhythm/lead guitarist. Their featured rapper, Shaza – The Go Go Godson,  whipped up the crowd and peppered the set with old school rhymes. These boys (and one Lady!) have always had a soft spot for P-Funk and tonight’s no different. Trouble Funk throw down spacey bass driven rhythms that are underpinned and propelled along by powerhouse funky drummer Emmet Nixon and and their new percussionist Geronimo – the name says it all. You could feel the bounce through that sprung wooden dancefloor.

Trouble Funk know how to drop the BOMB but they also know how to communicate. They work the crowd in the same way the late great Go Go legend, Chuck Brown, did. They deliver all the hits and before you know it you’re hooked in on the call and response vocals and flicking a wrist to ‘Let’s Get Small’ while dippin’ in unison with the rest of the crowd.That’s the FUNK… DC style… it comes in waves and one things for sure, it still smokin’ and it makes everybody smile.

All aboard the Trouble Funk Express!

BIG RESPECT to Adrian Gibson (AGMP) for having the vision to host the Trouble Funk crew and the man called Snowboy for a killing, pure vinyl, warm-up set of super rare Go Go mixed with the odd anthem!

Pic of ‘Big Tony’ by Snowboy!

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TROUBLE FUNK EXPRESS: They’re comin’… They’re comin’ … They’re comin’….

Posted on March 11, 2013 by Paul Brad

troublefunkbombIt was back at the dawn of the Eighties that Washington DC’s Trouble Funk rolled into London town and “dropped the bomb” on the London crew. It’s hard to explain but anticipation had reached the fever pitch and was set to explode inside Hammersmith Palais on that most memorable of nights. Upon walking into the venue the sense of panic grew, the noise was overwhelming, the whole place was vibrating the the sound air horns… ‘”Were they on already…has it all kicked off… what’s going down? We need to get in there!” Once in there we were amazed to find the whole place was simply responding to the dj set. When Trouble Funk finally hit the stage to the sound of that Go Go anthem of theirs the place went wild.

Trouble Funk

Trouble Funk

I don’t think I’ve experienced anything quite like that other than seeing Parliament/Funkadelic at Hammersmith Odeon. That said, there were no theatrics with Trouble Funk, it all was down to a raw uproarious blend of live swinging, up-tempo, muscular 70’s funk with bags of synth, a 60’s style horn section and heavy, insistent percussion topped off with a dose of booming call and response vocals. It was mayhem.

This town had the Go Go bug and had it in a serious way. I can vividly recall, not long after the Trouble Funk session,  being backstage at the Forum watching the Godfather of Go Go, Chuck Brown, filming the crowd and shouting, “Folks in DC never gonna believe this!”

So, thanks the visionary programming of Adrian Gibson (AGMP) and in celebration of their 35th birthday Trouble Funk are rolling back into town from Chocolate City. Friday night at Islington Asssembly Rooms is already Sold Out!  You need to get yourself sorted for that XTRA Saturday session. My good friends Snowboy and Chris Phillips are poised to set the vibe and have already got some baad-ass vintage Go Go vinyl in their boxes. So, what’s to say except “Meet Me At The Go Go!”


TROUBLE FUNK : Venue: Islington Assembly Hall
Date: 15/16th March 2013   Doors: 19:00  Gate Fee: £25.00

https://agmp.ticketabc.com/events/trouble/

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UP FOR THE DOWNLOAD… EVERYBODY GET UP! Chris ‘Daddy’ Dave’s ‘Drumhedz’ Mixtape + Induce’s Classic Black 3 + The Underachievers’ ‘Indigoism’

Posted on March 11, 2013 by Paul Brad
Chris 'Daddy' Dave

Chris ‘Daddy’ Dave

I first heard Chris Dave play at the Jazz Cafe in Camden Town when Me’shell N’Degeocello dropped into town to play an instrumental set. That was deep. He’s also played with D’Angelo, Beyoncé , Kenny Garrett, Terrence Blanchard, Wynton Marsalis, Pat Metheny, MF Doom, Bilal, Lupe Fiasco, Lalah Hathaway, Ledisi, Sonny Rollins, the Robert Glasper Trio/Experiment, Pharoahe Monche, Mos Def, Erykah Badu, Common, Talib Kweli, Jill Scott, A Tribe Called Quest, Dianne Reeves, Sa Ra, Geri Allen and more. He was the featured drummer on Maxwell’s Grammy winning album ‘BLACKsummers’night’ and on Adele’s Grammy winning ‘Album Of The Year 2012′ -’21’. Following on from ?uestlove – Chris Dave is THE Daddy!

Chris - DrumhedzThe Drumhedz project consists of a floating world of globally-renowned musicians and at any one time band may include a combination of any of the following: saxophonist, key player, bassist, guitarist plus Chris Dave himself on traps. To get a taste you just need to head off to http://chris-dave.com/ and download – free of charge – the Drumhedz Mixtape. Expect to be taken on a musical journey through a host of genres. THINK… Hendrix, D’Angelo, Fela Kuti, Radiohead, J Dilla… how’s that sound to you?

nduce

OK…next up… a little slice of old skool via NYC’s most excellent WAX POETICS crew… yes, a proper old skool mixtape via the man called INDUCE.

Originally conceive as a five part series Classic Black has since been refined to three installments. Induce maintains he started the series a couple of years ago to showcase Afrobeat, broken beat, and deep house cuts. However, it’s since evolved to feature disco or anything soulful.

“The common thread is that they are always all vinyl mixes, as the Classic Black name also refers to classic known and unknown platters of that black crack, aka vinyl records.”

Of this final installment, Classic Black 3, he adds, “This latest volume gets into more obscure disco and boogie gems. Not necessarily expensive or hard to find, but more of the type of records people don’t necessarily play all the time. This volume focuses a bit on the pop-lock boogie style popular on the West Coast, reminiscent of the Zapp sound.”

Tune in today : http://www.waxpoetics.com/blog/dj-mix/classic-black-volume-3.

The-Underachievers-Indigoism-608x608On an NYC Hip Hop tip I heard my boy playing this… so, I admit it, I’m lagging well behind now. ‘Indigoism’ by The Underachievers has been on his computer for about a month now and it’s been downloaded 100,000 times. Coming straight outta Flatbush, the Brooklyn duo of Issa Dash and Ak are synched in with the Brainfeeder crew and both like to rap about Egyptology, psychedelics and other stuff through clouds of ganja smoke. They are most definitely heirs to that Native Tongues tradition. These boys can chat, they have a dizzy flow to their words which are locked into some baaad, crisp, hard-snappin’ beats spliced with nice bleepy touches and snatches of piano and horns. For a taste of the NYC nu-skool (Beast Coast!) have a listen… and while you’re at it check out their mates Flatbush Zombies.

http://www.datpiff.com/The-Underachievers-Indigoism-mixtape.449545.html

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SPIRITUAL JAZZ 4: Sahib Shihab, Don Cherry, Albert Ayler, Frank Wright…..Jazzman do it again!

Posted on March 11, 2013 by Paul Brad

ayler The latest in episode in Jazzman’s Spiritual Jazz series digs deep into the archives of numerous European record labels to reveal a brace of gems recorded by African American master musicians like Sahib Shihab, Albert Ayler, Don Cherry, Sun Ra, Noah Howard, Grachan Moncur III, Eric Dolphy et al while working in Europe during the Sixties.

Sahib Shihab

Sahib Shihab

Despite the civil rights struggle and the growth Black consciousness the music of these masters was consistently marginalised in the USA. However, in Europe they discovered an open a receptive audience and a host of young musicians eager to both work with them and learn.  After the repressive racism of the States some found Europe liberating and settled there. Sahib Shihab was one such player who left the States behind and definitely made his mark on the Scandanavian jazz scene. Anyone familiar the UK jazz dance scene will be familiar with Shihab’s killing baritone sax and flute outings. Both the opening track with Shibab and Pierre Carvalli ‘Stude Nr 1 Fur 12’ and ‘The Call’ are typically inspired.

Jazzman’s ability to dig deeper is never in question. I’m still vibing on Ra & June Tyson welcoming us to their spaceworld, singing “the sound of joy is enlightenment” and if you want a touch more enlightenment look no further than Billy Gault’s ‘Mode For Trane’. Never heard that before nor the intense percussive Latin inspired masterpiece of ‘T & W’ by Frank Wright… a tenor player who can be FIERCE!

Don Cherry

Don Cherry

Don Cherry’ ‘Humus’ freaked me out as it takes one of my favourite tunes from his ‘Relativity Suite’ LP and gives it an alternative life. ‘Ole’ is a Coltrane classic that’s given me ’nuff pleasure over the years and Noah Howard’s version is a percussive and refreshing take that builds beautifully.

I could go on but suggest you simply check out the Soundcloud link and then the buy these records/Cd. Support your local Jazzman!

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FREEDOM! “In composition you have all the time you want to decide what to say in 15 seconds, in improvisation you have 15 seconds.” (Steve Lacy)

Posted on March 8, 2013 by Paul Brad

freedom 1a

It’s  a freezing cold Sunday night and as I waited at the bus stop, weighed down by a bag of vinyl, I had to wonder who would brave the weather and venture to Hoxton for the launch of our FREEDOM session. Conceived by vibes-master Orphy Robinson and myself FREEDOM is a Jazz Warriors International production that resides alongside their other Sunday evening sessions at Charlie Wright’s International Bar. Inspired by the bold visions of the AACM, St Louis Artist Group, Tribe and Sam Rivers’ legendary Wildflower Loft sessions, amongst others, the essence of the session is pure improvisation and the form it takes is a jam. Basically, FREEDOM goes where the spirit takes us.

Freedom_5Initially, the troops were a little thin on the ground but as the first set gathered noisy momentum other players began to drift in. Darren Taylor’s subliminally funky electric bass lines were at the epicentre of a storm that built around Steve Noble’s drums Doug Boyle’s electric guitar, Orphy’s cascade of sound from his xylosynth and pristine flurries of flugel horn from Claude Deppa. We were off to fiery start.

Tori Handley arrived her harp on wheels and the irrepressible Jessica Lauren dropped to guest on piano in between sets with another band at a nearby venue. Harmonica toting genius Philip Achille, who’d blown us all away at the last Black Top gig, dropped in along with original Jazz Warrior and one-time Metalheadz mic-man Cleveland Watkiss.

Interestingly the presence of women players like Helen McDonald on vocals, Sue Lynch on tenor and Caroline Kraabel on alto, along with Tori on harp, shifted the vibe and a more open but no less fluid sound seemed to emerge. With such a diverse selection of instruments in the house Orphy was able to orchestrate several fascinating combinations including a memorable duet between Tori and Cleveland.

Freedom_3 Initially slumped into a large armchair soprano player Adrian Northover traded licks with the other sax players who occupied the space in front of the small stage. However, the warm, muscular melodies of seasoned improviser Claude Deppa were never far way. As the night evolved the room was charged with a fresh and vibrant energy and the set culminated in a crescendo of sound with all thirteen musicians onstage. The foundation was laid and we were left on a musical and energy high that will carry us through to next episode of FREEDOM.

Freedom_2

FREEDOM VINYLSELEKSHAAAN – Kings Of Mali – Chico Freeman – Bass-ically! Respect to Cecil McBee!

ALL PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROGER THOMAS © All Rights Reserved

NEXT FREEEDOM: 24t March 2013 Door: 7pm Gate Fee 5.00 (Jam Musicians 3.00)

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MASTER TT LIANG: A few words on Taijiquan

Posted on March 6, 2013 by Paul Brad
Master TT Liang: Golden Pheasant Stands On One Leg

Master TT Liang: Golden Pheasant Stands On One Leg

The first book we were told to read by John R. Kells when I was learning Yang Family taijiquan back in the day was TT Liang’s T’ai Ch Chuan for Health & Self Defence. It’s one of the few books on the arts that seems to have vanished from my little library… however, I recall it provided an excellent way into the art. TT Liang was quite a character, a senior student of Master Cheng Man Ching and thanks to recent post by Bruce Franzis (Energy Arts) here’s a few inspiring words from one of his books:

At first I take up T’ai Chi as a hobby,
Gradually I become addicted to it,
Finally I can no longer get rid of it.
I must keep on practicing for my whole life-
It is the only way to preserve health.
The more I practice, the more I want to learn
from teachers and books.
The more I learn, the less I feel I know.
The theory and philosophy of T’ai Chi is so
profound and abstruse!
I must continue studying forever and ever . . .
It is the only way to improve and better myself.
-T. T. Liang

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Dr Donald Byrd with The Mizell Brothers Live at Montreux 1973

Posted on February 26, 2013 by Paul Brad

THE BAND: Donald Byrd (tp,flhrn) Fonce Mizell (tp) Allan Barnes (fl,ts) Nathan Davis (sop,ts) Larry Mizell (synt) Kevin Toney (el-p) Barney Perry (el-g) Henry Franklin (el-b) Keith Killgo (d,vcl) Ray Armando (cga,perc). Live, Montreux Jazz Festival, Montreux, Switzerland, July 5, 1973

Big respect to Claude Nobs (RIP)and GP/Brownswood … PHUNKY!

Also check: https://soundcloud.com/gillespeterson/donald-byrd-tribute-mix-part-1
+ https://soundcloud.com/gillespeterson/donald-byrd-tribute-mix-the

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THIS SUNDAY! SESSION No.1 – FREEDOM: The Art Of Improvisation

Posted on February 20, 2013 by Paul Brad

“In composition you have all the time you want to decide what to say in 15 seconds, in improvisation you have 15 seconds.” Steve Lacy

Freedom EFLYER(3)Greetings…  Seems like a rare occasion these days that I’m offered a little deejay slot and therefore get to dig DEEP into the vinyl.

However, on the third Sunday of each month… THIS SUNDAY!… I shall be joining Orphy Robinson and the Jazz Warriors International crew for a combination session at Charlie Wrights in Pitfield Street, Hoxton….. (little nod of respect to John!)

FREEDOM is the name of the game and I shall provide the ridim & sounds around 2 sets of pure-live-free-style that pays homage to Sam Rivers’ legendary jam sessions,  the AACM and the St Louis group amongst others.

Already in the box:  Julius Hemphill, Cedric Brooks & The Divine Light, Gato Barbieri, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Black Arthur Blythe, Grachan Moncur III, McCoy Tyner, Amiri Baraka, Human Arts Ensemble, Defunkt, Yusef Lateef, Dudu Pukwana .. maybe even Parliament and Miles….

I believe Orphy’s building the live sessions with Claude (Deppa)…   So, if you wanna play? Get there early and get your name down!

GATE FEE is a modest 5 quid… put it in the diary right now!

“Jazz is there & gone. It happens. You have to be present for it. That simple.”

Keith Jarrett

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PLACES & SPACES: Donaldson Toussaint L’Ouverture Byrd II RIP

Posted on February 9, 2013 by Paul Brad

Last Monday, at the age of 80, composer, trumpeter and teacher, Donaldson Toussaint L’Ouverture Byrd II passed away leaving us a mountain of recordings that add up to a impressively diverse and lasting legacy. As a musician who transcended generations he’ll be much missed by both the hard bop cognoscenti and a hip hop generation schooled on his samples. As I sat down to write this modest tribute I dropped ‘Christo Redentor’ from ‘New Perspective’ onto the turntable to get the vibe but right now I’m sitting here nodding out to the remix of ‘The Emperor’ from the 1971 ‘Ethiopian Night’ album. Fifteen minutes of glorious post Bitches Brew funk. The man was nothing but prolific and between those two tunes there exists a unique  journey.

DB

Donald Byrd: Off To The Races

Dr.Donald Byrd’s jazz career commenced in 1955. Following a stint in the armed forces and his notching up a Masters at The Manhattan School Of Music he joined the crucible that was Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. It was a springboard that linked him up with the label that pretty much help define the era – Alfred Lion’s Blue Note Records – and between 1959 and 1976 he cut 24 albums for them as a leader.

BKWjazz4

As a horn player he played with all the greats and above is a lovely shot of him onstage with the mighty Sonny Rollins taken by iconic rock photographer Jim Marshall. While he more than earned his place in the lexicon of master musicians that make up the modern jazz elite it was his working relationship with Larry and Fonce Mizell that lifted him out of the world of contemporary jazz and onto dancefloors across the world. The early Seventies was, for me, a golden era of soul and funk that took the music of Black America to new heights. Think ‘What’s Going On’, Isaac Hayes’ ‘Theme from Shaft’, Parliament ‘Chocolate City’…. James Brown, Bill Withers, Donny Hathaway, Al Green…Betty Wright’s ‘Clean Up Woman’…

It’s hard to think of an 80s/90s UK jazz dance session that didn’t feature a Donald Byrd tune – ‘Mustang’ to ‘Dominoes’. Similarly, the evolution of hip hop is peppered with Donald Byrd samples and following the impact of Giant Step’s Red Hot sessions in New York, in the mid Nineties, the coming together of Guru and Donald Byrd in Jazzmataazz presented a unique meeting of minds.

Donald & Guru
Dr Byrd and Guru RIP

It was one Toussaint L’ouverture who led the slave revolt that liberated Haiti in the 1790’s to create the first independent black state in the Caribbean and Donald Byrd lived up to his middle names by tirelessly working as an educator. In the the 80s, he introduced the world to his best students – The Blackbyrds – and he was “an avid and eternal student of music” and teacher until his life finally ebbed away.

OK. All you gotta do now is dig out the vinyl and enjoy what the man left behind.

Donaldson Toussaint L’Ouverture Byrd II- December 9, 1932 – February 4, 2013.

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WILLIAM ADAMSON: Moonlit Visions & East Coast Pathways

Posted on February 8, 2013 by Paul Brad

william-adamson-press-shot-e1357731884981

“The slug trails of idea, half-truth and the untold. Catching the light of the full moon, crisscrossing each other on the path. We set about devising a map with places of which we had heard, through some chance visits and low sky directions. A mental map stretched down to Orford in the south, Southwold in the north and inland for twenty miles or so in the county of Suffolk on the east horn of the UK. A man was walking. A dog had been prowling, men readied for an apocalypse. Was the sea telling stories? Old songs and new roads, coughing, standing spitting, while we squinted into one of the hollows of England.”

At last, the phenomena that is Willam Adamson steps boldly into our electronica and beat ridden landscape. As the words above suggest this is a raw and immersive venture that follows in footsteps of WG Sebald and stems from the pen of one Robert Gallagher. A bard with roots off the Kingsland Road, a city watcher, a veteran of that ‘Saturday Morning Rush’, a runner… Rob G aka Earl Zinger is a man with a poetic and musical history.

Indeed, back in time, coinciding with the ecstasy fuelled sunrise sessions and the globalisation of Rave, there was once a feisty and intuitively radical crew called Galliano who sported earth boots, suede trimmed Gabicci’s and offered a highly individual skank. It was there that Rob G, as he is known to brethren, honed his skills. Seek out his paean to ‘Twyford Down’ as it points to a path, an energy line, that in 2013 touches down on the county of Suffolk – ‘Under An East Coast Moon’.

Suffolk is home to the studio of the man called Demus. A dub master, a Co-op contender and difference-engineer behind challenging and wayward souls like Zed-U and Little Skinny. Demus + Rob G = 2Bo4 /Two Banks Of Four, the production team , the primal force, that brought this compelling concept – ‘Under An East Coast Moon’ – to life. Of course, they had help from a host of talented friends like Tom Skinner, Finn Peters, Shawn Lee, Tom Rodwell, Tom Herbert, Gil Cang, Valerie Etienne and Alice Grant, and the sounds they create are most welcome as winter gives way to that new burst of life that is spring.

And finally let us give thanks that Gilles Peterson has the vision and the means to deliver the journey of William Adamson to a new and unsuspecting audience.

‘Under an East Coast Moon’ will be released on CD / Digital Download on 4th March 2013 via Brownswood Recordings. Naturally, an alternative “Discomix” version of the album will be released on crisp, heavyweight vinyl LP

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