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Who has heard Olatunji's "Soul Makossa"?


JSngry

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I played Joe's LP "Multiple" a lot back then. He was into those experiments, consider "Black Miracle", and "Canyon Lady" in particular (although his workout with just the Cuban percussionists was only on the Milestone box set). I remember seeing Joe in a version of the Jazz - Tunisia encounter on the Frankfurt Jazz Festival - his style worked well in such contexts. Albert Mangelsdorff was in that band, too.

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49 minutes ago, Teasing the Korean said:

I have this on LP.  While most of my Olatunji LPs (Columbia era) are filed in the exotica section, this album is filed in the Now Sound section, right between the Ohio Players and Riz Ortolani.

It is a gem, and while i have not spun it in a while, I am now inspired to do so! 

OK, NOW you gotta explain what the "Now Sound" section is -- ??

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14 minutes ago, Rooster_Ties said:

OK, NOW you gotta explain what the "Now Sound" section is -- ??

"Now Sound" is admittedly the most unwieldy section within my own idiosyncratic filing system, and I continually second guess certain choices within this section.

The short answer would be post-Beatles pop, easy listening, film scores, and jazz - records made by aging composers, arrangers, and jazz & easy listening artists tuning in and turning on to the styles, moods, and vibrations of today.  

But the section extends into a lot of tangential musics, including certain soul/funk, spiritual jazz, and world music.  Anything that could be played during the party scene in Beyond the Valley of the Dolls or the sex scene on the money-covered circular bed in Danger: Diabolik could potentially qualify.

Please note that the default is not the year of release but rather the style.  For example, a 1980s solo piano George Shearing record would go in the jazz section, but the 70s MPS record where he does "The World is a Ghetto" goes into the Now Sound section.  

Anyone's version of "Soul Makossa" goes in this section, because every version of that track I've ever heard sounds like a wild 70s party at which I'm scratching at the window to get invited to, but the door never opens.  

Hope this helps.  

Edited by Teasing the Korean
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OK, we are now spinning Soul Makossa.  My wife and I have been cooking dinner, and we warmed up with a few choice selections:

Music to Watch Girls by by Bob Crewe (Dynavoice, mono)

and

Jack Jones in Hollywood (Kapp, stereo).

Now we are serving dinner and blasting this masterpiece!

Edited by Teasing the Korean
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55 minutes ago, mikeweil said:

Olatunji's Soul Makossa as dinner music??? That's wild. Can you post some examples of what usually gets played as "dinner music" in your house? :lol:

My wife shares my taste in music - she is responsible for probably a third of our LPs - and it is a weekend ritual before we start cooking dinner to pull out four or five LPs that we will listen to between cocktails, prepping, dining, and cleaning up.  We don't always know what is going to land where.  

Anyway, that is a perfect dinner album in our house.  Our only rule is nothing too wild on Saturday or Sunday during breakfast, especially if it's the kind of record that makes you want cocktails.  Those are saved for later in the day.

After dinner, we cleaned the kitchen and dining room to Walter/Wendy Carlos's Clockwork Orange LP!  

30 minutes ago, JSngry said:

And what's for dinner!

We roasted some tomatoes and whole garlic, and served this over a bed of spaghetti squash and sautéed spinach.  Improvised, but tasty! Enjoyed with a whole-grain baguette and California Cabernet! 

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  • 3 years later...

This is such a fun record. I’d forgotten that Reggie Lucas actually gets in one full-fledged legitimate solo! — and a fairly long one at that, starting about 1:25 or 1:30 into the track (Track 4)…

Plus later in the track, there’s some sort of collective improve of Lucas, Stamm, and Eddie Bert (trombone).  Stamm and Bert get some space on the last (5th) track too.

I really dig this whole album, top to bottom.

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