Hello everyone who cares to read this. I wanted to share a little of what some of us in the band have been enjoying and influenced by as of late. I guess I would like to start off by mentioning that I got a turntable not too long ago and it has changed alot about how I listen to music. For more about how and why this has happened, just read Evan Eisenberg's great book "The Recording Angel."
So, yeah, now I spend most of my paychecks on vinyl and most of my nights sitting in front of my record player soaking all this music in. What have I been listening to? There is something indescribable, and uniquely excusive about most of the music originating from New Orleans, whether it's jazz, deep soul, or funk. It's in the rhythm. A good example of this can be found on Lee Dorsey's "Yes We Can." And if you like that you have to listen to Allen Toussaint's "Southern Nights."
Allen Toussaint is responsible for the music and arrangements on both of these albums which is expertly played by the Meters.
Allen Toussaint will be performing in SF, for the Jazz festival this year (Fri, May 11th) and Nathan and I already have our tickets.
I also have been made aware of an amazing drummer who was from New Orleans named James Black. He played on alot of session dates for Eddie Bo, as well as some for Allen Toussaint, Inell Young, Betty Harris, but some of his most intriguing work can be found on playing with Yusef Lateef on a number of live recordings from a club in Philadelphia called "Peps." The same week I found one of these records, Nathan found a different one, and now I can't stop listening to both.
I am still waiting for my copy of Nat Adderley's "In the Bag" which i ordered from Ebay. This session is of legendary proportions and I can't wait to hear it.
Anyways, I realize this may be a bit nerdy but this stuff is just so much fun to listen to that I felt compelled to share this with whomever might be interested.
Enjoy,
Bert
P.S. sorry for the bad spelling, I'm in a hurry.