Uruguayan Fire From Egle Martin

I picked up this rare 7" single in Curitiba, Brazil back in 2004 at a record store run by a very nice dude named Julio. I was buying a fair bit of stuff so he just sorta threw it in as a bonus and because it was a Uruguayan record he wasn't even sure what it was worth. It's since become a favorite of mine and a few friends I've shared it with.

But then last night I dropped it in my set at Dalva (word up, Toph One) and it became the clear runaway hit of the night. I'll be scanning the cover and uploading for all to see, but here are the two tracks, both great, but the intro to the first one is so dramatic and jazzy . . . then the smokin' latin beat drops!

Egle Martin - Dombe BariloEgle Martin - El Dombe

There's an Argentine pressing here on eBay.
This is what that eBay seller had to say about the record:
Egle Martin (a.k.a. La Negra) was sorta like La Lupe from the south of the southern hemisphere. She was deeply involved into the Afro-Latin American culture, and especially the underground Uruguayan and Brazilian scene (experiencing the Bossa and Candomble, often with her Brazilian friends, Maysa and Luiz Eca, among others, and skilled Uruguayan musicians). The Dombe was a rhythm inspired by the afro-Uruguayan Candomble, of her own creation, which also mixes American Funk, Boogaloo and Latin Jazz. Dombe Barilo is a KILLER track in its own right, with those fantastic bongo drums, brass sections, horn arrangements, funky bass-n-drums, plus Egle's vibrant manner of singing, with some lush and intense scat vocal in parts. El Dombe, is the track which gives its name to the rhythm, and is equally good. Both tracks have cool lyrics, and they mainly refer to the dance, and this rhythm.

Intergalactic Space Funk: Phase I: Launch

The Ambassador - Intergalactic Space Funk: Phase I: Launch
As promised a few months ago, here's the newest installment of the SPACE FUNK. This is part one of several future chapters of Space Funk. To be honest, I messed up the mix shortly after this section was completed and that seemed like a good enough reason to break these up into sections and thematically it works too. This first "Phase" is about leaving earth and journeying into space. The mix starts off with some general funkiness with plenty of spacy keyboards and then slowly builds until you are blasting off into space. The next phase will find our intrepid space funkateers on the Moon and beyond.

This mix was re-inspired by my Friday night activities at San Francisco's "Ghetto Futuristic Psychedelic Funkadelic Electronic Erotic Dance Party happening" aka "Future Shock". Big ups to Freddy, Marky, Jason & Stefan for throwing a great party and inspiring me to complete phase I and beyond . . .

The Count's California Count-Down - Side A & B

UPDATE: Now both sides of the mix are up for your listening pleasure!

Happy Monday, Soul Spectators!

This quick little post is part one two of a mix I made this weekend for some friends who are about to embark on a West Coast Tour. Chris and Dan are gonna be escorting the Taiwanese indie-rock/pop band Won Fu on their first US tour. I was trying to imagine them bopping along the I-5 to some groovy tunes and that was my inspiration. I also wanted to use some of the great interludes from this Sesame Street record I recently copped. Keep in mind that all of the interludes used were put together with David Axelrod's help. Sure, they are not mind-blowing like his normal output, but they're pretty sweet nonetheless.

The Ambassador - The Count's California Count-Down - Side A
The Ambassador - The Count's California Count-Down - Side B

Balanço Brasileiro

There's Baile Funk, Samba Funk, Funky Samba, Brazilian Soul, Roots Samba, Bossa Nova and dozens more sub-genres of Brazilian music that swing, but today we're gonna focus on just that, the SWING. In Brazilian Portuguese, the term is "Balanço". Now, there's no real specific definition of "Balanço" but like the term suggests, its more a feeling, the way a song moves. I think this term became popularized in the early-to-mid sixties when the instrumental Bossa Jazz trios were in swinging in full fore, such as Tamba Trio, Jongo Trio, Bossa Três and many others. These groups were melodic, but they also SWUNG HARD.

Around this time you also have "dance music" purveyors, like Ed Lincoln with his organ and his swinging dance records. One of Ed's main men and occasional vocalist was Orlandivo, who first started recording in the early 60s. He made a couple albums in the early-to-mid sixties and then not another solo record until the 1977 album he did with João Donato (see below). He was a vocalist, percussionist and song writer.

One of Orlandivo's best known songs is featured today in four versions, "Tamanco No Samba". The direct translation means "Clog in Samba", but clog like the wooden shoe, not what's backing up your drain. If someone knows what this is referring to, please chime in. A quick glance at the lyrics suggests the song is about the sound a woman makes when dancing the samba wearing clogs - a bonus percussive element to the samba. Works for me.

Anyways, this is a sleeper favorite from Orlandivo's 1977 album, which is chock full of great tunes and then I found it retitled as "Samba Blim" from the Tamba 4 album of the same name on A&M from 1968. The drummer from Tamba 4, Helcio Milito, often appears alongside Orlandivo on various album credits throughout the years, so I'm guessing they go way back. Next, I heard another cover on the beautiful 70s bossa vocal jazz album Aquarius and then my main man Cal Tjader covered the tune with help from Airto on his "Amazonas" album. And with that, I bring you "Tamanco No Samba."

Tamba 4 - Samba Blim
I picked up their first A&M album "We and the Sea" awhile back but it was when my initial bossa binge was waning, so I failed to appreciate this top-shelf band making full use of the American recording environment. This, their second and final record for A&M (though rumors have it there was a third recorded - the promo single only "California Soul" being from those sessions) is really solid. They were such a versatile band for three (occasionally four) members including the singing bassist, Bebeto. I discovered this tune after knowing and loving the 1977 Orlandivo version and realized it was the same song with a different title, which was not uncommon for US releases of Brazilian tunes.

Aquarius - Tamanco No Samba
This is an extremely rare record that has more than a little in common with the criminally underrated duo of Burnier & Cartier. Cartier is absent on this one, but Octavio Burner and his wife Sonia are all over this and the sound is very similar to their albums and then there are two of their compositions on here. Overall, this is a lovely mid-seventies Bossa Nova album with stunning production. You can download it here from Quimsy's blog.

Orlandivo - Tamanco No Samba
One of the best albums of the 70s for my money. Orlandivo's songs and laid-back vocal style combined with a top-shelf band including João Donato on arrangements. Loronix has the album here.

Cal Tjader - Tamanco No Samba
Cal knew his Brazilian music and on top of that he had Airto produce this mid-seventies outing so you knew he was gonna have the Brazilian beat dialed in to perfection. This joint was recorded walking distance from where I work in Berkeley, CA.

Great Songs (Now With Lyrics!)

I am certain there are a million and one other examples of this phenomenon (classic instrumental songs getting new lyrics), but this post stems from my relatively recent fascination with jazz vocalist Mark Murphy. I never in my boringest dreams thought that I would have anything resembling a fascination with a "jazz vocalist." Sure, I showed my sensitive side in college with my "best of" Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday CDs and how can you not like a little Frank Sinatra now and then, but somehow these icons escape the labeling of "jazz vocalist". Partly, I think it's the fault of all those too-smooth (Al Jarreau), silly (Bobby McFerrin) crappy-ass jazz vocalists that are ruining it for the truly artistic and inspired examples out there still doing their thing (check out Jose James).

I first heard Mark Murphy on a mix made by my man Greg Caz. The song was "Sunday in New York" and no doubt the slightly funky rhythm section, hot horns and because I lived in NYC at the time allowed me to listen deeper. After a few listens it was all about Mark's vocal style and delivery. I've been tracking down his catalog ever since. Something I noticed on a few of his albums was how he would take a classic jazz track and write lyrics for it so that the listener could immediately relate to the tune, but now there was a new element, a new soloist doing their thing in an unfamiliar way over a familiar song. Sure, there's "Watermelon Man" with its latin/vocal version by Mongo Santamaria (though there aren't many words to this lyric, "Hey, Watermelon Man!") or Carmen McCrae's vocal take on "Take Five", but Mark picks some tracks that clairvoyantly speak to the hip-hop generation as they are classic sample cuts. But before we get into some "serious" jazz music, I asked my co-worker, Eric, for any ideas on this theme and he suggested this classic lyrical interpretation of a familiar instrumental tune:



Mark Murphy - On the Red Clay
This is a killer album, possibly my favorite of Mark's so far and it took me getting out-bid a couple times before I secured my own copy. While the Freddie Hubbard version (below) is not the one that Tribe sampled (that was Jack Wilkins), it's a great tune and I feel Mark really captures the energy of the song taking only the title and extrapolating from there.



Mark Murphy - Canteloupe Island
A more obvious choice, but a great song nonetheless and Mark's lyrics seem to fit the tropical mood painted by Herbie's original version.



Mark Murphy - Sly
This was a strange choice I thought as "Sly" was not an obvious pick from Herbie's classic "Headhunters" album, but Mark really finds a bouncing vocal style to play around with Herbie's musical structure. This is from another great album my Mark Murphy that features one of the best versions of Tom Jobim's "Waters of March". Please chime in on the comments if you have any favorite instrumentals-turned-vocal tunes.

Jerry Butler: Should I Stay or Shoul I Go?

Here are two tracks from a recent acquisition of mine. I'm not a huge Jerry Butler fan, but I generally flip over his records when digging through the stacks, mostly to find that album with the Method Man sample. This is not the one, but while scanning the back cover I saw two other names that I know and adore: Donny Hathaway and Terry Callier. Donny arranged "Sail Away" and Terry wrote "Windy City Soul." By this time in 1971, Donny was already on his way to fame and Terry was just getting started and both were probably honored to be working with Jerry Butler, Chicago soul royalty.

These two songs make for nice bookends as one longs for an escape from one's locale and the other is about a homecoming.


Jerry Butler - Sail Away
Jerry Butler - Windy City Soul

A Trip Around Brasil - A New Brasil Mix

O Embaixador - Viagem Pelo Brasil
Just made this mix last night and it's far from perfect, but I think you might enjoy it. I started out with a few songs I was planning on including, but then it just kinda became a stream of consciousness style mix. Notable on this mix is the three-in-a-row Brasilian tunes by way of A&M records including some promo only Tamba Trio and Sergio Mendes. We also have some funky northeastern tunes, before delivering a dose of samba and then some Brasilian boogie before coming back home to samba. I might be convinced to create a track-list if enough people wanna know what's what. I hope you dig it.

Barry Good Music

Barry White is one of those musicians that I never really followed too closely because his music was already so ubiquitous, I assumed that I had already heard it all. Sure, I definitely liked some of his stuff a lot and even got down to some greatest hits CD when I lived in Indonesia and was starved of good music. But it wasn't until lately that I realized what a wealth of music he was responsible for beyond his own records.

I have been rocking the Love Unlimited record below for a couple years now and managed to track down the My Sweet Summer Suite 12" a while back, but honestly I was thinking these tracks were just one-offs. Then, more recently, I came across the Gloria Scott record and then the Jay Dee single (also featured on the $20 Worth of Soul Mix and I realized that there really is something to this Barry White dude beyond the hits.

Gloria Scott - What Am I Gonna Do?
This album is awesome! It's kinda like the first Love Unlimited album, but with a more soulful solo female vocalist. Most of the songs are mid-tempo and really emotionally-charged, but man the arrangements and the hooks are sooo good! This is the first track of the disc, but honestly I coulda picked one of 5 others that are just as good. Pick up the reissue CD or LP at dustygroove.

Love Unlimited - I Can't Let Him Down
This is a later Love Unlimited jam that I absolutely love. The intro is soaring and then the beat just drops and the song is on its way. This song shows Barry in a more rare fast-paced groove.



Love Unlimited Orchestra - My Sweet Summer Suite (12" Version)
I initially liked this one for its tropical, cuica-filled intro, but the groove is just great.


Jay Dee - Strange Funky Games and Things
Another Barry White side-project, Jay Dee is a decent singer but what we have here is really just prime Barry White arrangements and playing from Love Unlimited, Barry's ever-present ensemble. I'm sure there are other individuals responsible for these excellent tunes: the Love Unlimited singers, Jay Dee, arrangers such as the legendary Gene Page and Webster Lewis, but the one thing all these tunes have in common is the larger than life . . . Barry White.

New All-45 Mix: $20 Worth of Soul

The idea behind this mix is to demonstrate what can be accomplished with $20, some patience, record cleaning solution and some elbow grease. Two weekends ago I went down the street for my regular dig at the Alemany Flea Market. I ended up getting records from two different vendors, neither of which specialize in vinyl. I convinced the vendor at the first spot to sell me a stack of 25 sleeveless and dusty 45s and one Stacy Lattislaw LP for $20. The mix you are listening to was constructed from 18 of these 25 45s a day or two after I got'em. You'll notice that there's a bit of surface noise on some of the cuts, but (speaking for myself here) the mix is pretty darn listenable.

A lot of these tracks are songs I have on album, but I was psyched to find them on 45, like the Faze-O, the Johhny "Guitar" Watson and the Rufus cuts. The scores as far as I'm concerned are the Fred Wesley jam and the Jay Dee tune. Not a bad way to spend $20 I would say. I hope you get some value out of it too.

The Ambassador - $20 Worth of Soul
1. Johnny Nash - You Got Soul
2. Gene Chandler - A Song Called Soul
3. The Joneses - Hey Girl, Part 1
4. Jay Dee - Strange Funky Games and Things
5. The Isley Brothers - Work To Do
6. Rufus - You Got the Love
7. Earth, Wind & Fire - Evil
8. Suede - Everybody Must Pay
9. Sly & the Family Stone - Loose Booty
10. Muscle Shoals Horns - Born To Get Down
11. Jimmy "Bo" Horne - Gimme Some
12. Shirley & Company - Shame, Shame, Shame
13. Slave - Just a Touch of Love
14. Fred Wesley - House Party
15. Johnny "Guitar" Watson - Superman Lover
16. Faze-O - Riding High
17. Rance Allen Group - Ain't No Need of Crying
18. Garnet Mimms - A Quiet Place

Disco Monster #8: Recent 12" Acquistions

Hello folks, another Disco Monster for you here with no common theme between these two songs other than they are AWESOME and I got them recently and had had them on my want list for a minute. I hope you dig them.







Odyssey - Going Back To My Roots
This songs been covered a few times and each version is great. The original comes from Lamont Dozier from his "Peddlin' Music on the Side" album from 1977. According to Allmusic.com: "The Afro-centric disco hit "Going Back to My Roots" was co-arranged by Hugh Masekela and has a message that most can relate to: "zipping up my boots/ going back to my roots/ to the place of my birth/ back down to earth/ ain't talkin' 'bout no roots in the land/ talkin' 'bout the roots in the man." The 12" version of "Going Back to My Roots" is a collectible and the song was a 1981 disco hit for RCA Records group Odyssey ("Native New Yorker")." Richie Havens also has a dope version from the early eighties that is well worth checking out.

El Coco - Cocomotion '79
I had a crappy rip of this tune for years and only just copped the original and ripped it for your listening enjoyment. El Coco was the front for disco music producers Laurin Rinder and Michael Lewis. This song is basically a spacy remix of their 1977 disco hit "Cocomotion". The "Coco" that is not so suitably referenced in many of the "group's" songs is a not-so-subtle reference to the preferred disco-era narcotic. I really like this later version for its dubby production and subtle jazzy arrangements.