Soul Stream

Just pulled out "Waiting for the Boogaloo Sisters" for a listen. It's been quite a while. Just wanted to say what an amazing record this is. It sits comfortably right next to the stuff coming out of NYC from Yahel and Goldings, and just plain tops most everything else. This is a real group that has something to say together. Not to mention every player is a master of their instrument.

Yeah, what about discovering Junior Parker, Howlin' Wolf and a host of other legendary bluesmen! That's the forgotten Sun legacy for sure. Well, Sam sure had an ear!

Well Jim, I guess that sheds more light on why he went out of his way to say something negative about Grant Green in an Organissimo article! By the way, this writer doesn't happen to play guitar does he? Well, anyway, it's nice that ya'll are getting some good press.

Like Green or not, unless you recognize his playing as that of a master guitarist, then I would question any musical judgement made thereafter by such a person. That's my opinion. No need to concur.

I didn't like this book at all. It just seemed so speculative. I didn't even finish it. I got so bored with his thesis. To bad, I really looked forward to a good book on Lester.

I'm not sure why this reviewer would take the opportunity to review Organissimo and slam Grant Green. That little comment comes out of left field and has nothing to do with anything. It's lame. It's one thing to put Joe's playing alongside that of the greats. He's a terriffic guitarist deserved of all the praise. It's another to downgrade one of the obvious legends of the instrument in an attempt to bolster someone else's case. Anyway, this has absolutely nothing to do with the band obviously. Otherwise I thought the guy did a great job on the article. I just thought the dig was uncalled for. I didn't get it, and I'm sure Joe didn't dig it either since he's a huge Grant fan himslef. It's like when a guy comes up on a gig, half-drunk, claiming..."hey dude, you blow Stevie Ray AWAY!" Or whoever (or Grant Green).

The OVER-RATED Grant Green being put to shame???!!!!! Blasphemy!!!! Nice article though.

Glad you dug it Couw. I've been listening to it a lot this week as well. I had the chance to give Brother Jack a little ride around my hometown a few years before he died. He was just as great and cool as you'd think he would be, and he answered all my questions. Unfortunately, this was before I ever heard Moon Rappin'. I wish I could have asked him about this session. I'd love to have known his thoughts about it!

yeah, i couldn't get through for a while....

Angelina's hot. I think I could overcome her "baggage" long enough to savor her. However, if my eye caught even a glimpse of her huge Billy Bob tattoo, that might blow the whole thing for me. (but probably not. )

Dreams are great. I usually enjoy them, good or bad, because they are just such a wierd phenom. It's like being in a movie. Anyway, great dreams B3-er. Also, I had a penchant for breaking my collar bone when I was a kid. Not 4 times, but 2. Maybe it's an organ player thing! Also, I'm from a family of 5, you're from 7....hey this is getting strange!

...o.k. kids, break it up. Save it for "behind the music: organissmio"

The day after my father died, I had a "waking" dream that was as real as being awake. I woke up, and was startled by my father sitting on my bedside. He didn't say anything. Just then, the closet door opened and out walked a dark figure that sat on the other side of my bed. The dark figure then proceeded to tell me the death order of myself and my brothers and sisters. The order was... 1.Myself-first to die 2.My olderst sister second to die 3.My brother third to die 4.My youngest sister fourth to die 5.My second to oldest sister fifth to die I've never told anybody about that dream until now, but I sometimes wonder if that death order will come true. Of course, being the first to go I guess I'll never know if it does.

Just keep on keepin' on. My biggest motivating factor was this.... I often thought about some rich, indifferent tobacco executive getting rich at the cost of my health and eventual death. That really pissed me off and I vowed not to let that continue. And it worked.

yes, most definitely! I am sometimes tempted and do bum a smoke when drinking some alcyhollic beverages, but never in smoky bars. I hate smoky bars and I hate the smell on my clothes the day after visiting such bars. The last time we threw a BIG party almost all smokers went outside. 't Was a gooood party. I get the feeling as smokers get pushed farther away from general society, that smoking will see a BIG decline over the next 20 years or so. At least that's my hope. The smokers I do know are getting tired of smoking outside, and when the inconvenience of it overwhelms the addictiveness of the habit, we might be getting somewhere. Looks like the Austin Smoking Ban in bars, which I originally opposed but now support, isn't going to make it. It's been pushed back for further "study." Too bad. I was getting used to the idea of a smoke-free workplace for myself.

ahhh....nothing like having your genitals soaked in surgical spirits. brings back memories....

I quit smoking about 4 years ago. A bad musician habit that's easy to get into but hard to break, especially if you're playing bars all the time. Luckily, I managed cold turkey. Best thing I EVER did. I think all ex-smokers would agree. It's a government sanctioned drug habit that kills more than any other drug. What's the one question they ask when you buy life insurance....do you smoke?. That should tell you what a killer it is. They could care less about your height/weight ratio. Not to preach, I'm just glad I got out of it. No desire at all to smoke again, and I play in smokey bars a lot. Matter of fact, it makes me want to smoke less. Funny how nasty smoke smells and feels when you're not addicted to it. Congrats to all who have quit. And here's to encouraging those who want to quit. Keep trying, you can do it! Also, I'm not against smokers. Being around someone who smokes doesn't bother me in the least. We all have bad habits, smoking is just wearing yours on your sleeve.

Let me begin by saying how surprised I was when I began to SERIOUSLY like "Moon Rappin." Up until the time it came out as a Rare Groove CD, I had never heard it. And to be honest, from the looks of it on paper and it's 1969 dating, it didn't seem that promising. But once I heard it, it began to grow and grow and GROW on me until it became one of my all-time favorite organ dates. And that's saying a lot, since I think I have every organ date known to man. Usually, I'm not a big fan of organ albums with bass players. However, this is RICHARD DAVIS!!!! You remember, from the Andrew Hill Blue Note sessions among other things. He's a serious player and in a rare electric bass role here. His rhythm mate is none other that JOE DUKES. Joe Dukes was Jack's main drummer throughout a huge stretch of time. He and Davis really hook up, and along with McDuff make it a very TIGHT feel on Moon Rappin'. Just check out the drum/bass pickup that starts off the album on FLAT BACKIN'....I mean, someone needs to sample that! It's tight, right and full of might. B) I hear two guitars on this track, so I'm not sure if Jerry Byrd played both parts or not, but whoever did is bad. The wah-wah especially makes it for me. And check Richard Davis walking on the swing section of the tune. Wow! Jack makes his thing swing as usual (hey, I DIG the organ sound here. Usually not a fan of non-RVG organ sounds from this era, but Bob Gallo does a wonderful job capturing the leslie here.) Plus Jack's vocal groans are captured to good effect especially on the funk sections. The funk and the swing sections....two great things that go great together! OBLIGHETTO....O.K> I'm declaring this track the official winner!!!! That little groove they hit at the beginning with Jack doing that percussion effect w/drawbars pushed all the way in. Then BAM....we're launched into outer space until about 2 minutes into it ....when Jack and company go super funk on us! Richard Davis again, bad on that Fender Bass....Joe Dukes layin' it down tight and right. And Jack, he's McDuffin' to the max. Man, I LOVE when McDuff just sails some shit over the I chord like on this section. Then they all shift gears and we're back to the spacey section with Jean DuShon's badass superfly eerie vocals trippin' all over the place. That little figure played on sax and muted trumpet is so nice. The sound they have together is happening. At about 5:00 minutes into the song Jack really hits his stride, high notes anyone? Jack is serving them up. All you can eat. And boy, he's BLOWIN' on this outro section! Go on Brother Jack with your bad self. P.S.-nice ending. Wait, did I declare Oblighetto the winner?...o.k...I take that back...MOON RAPPIN' is!!!!! I dig this little vibe they have going here. Those voicings are all brother jack. Nice channel too with the horns and all. At about 1:20 they really blow up. That rhythm section is tight. Check out JERRY BYRD'S little octave part!!!! And then McDuff plays piano. He's got a nice hard sound on piano, alll right hand (and by the way this section is in B natural!!!). He goes into a nice octave pounding before hitting that BAD B chord that MAKES this cut for me (Will someone spell that chord out for me! Jsngry? where are you! ) Overall, some nice team playing on this cut. MADE IN SWEDEN. This cut is all about Joe Dukes! Check out his thing at the beginning before they break into straight waltz time (you can hear a tape splice when they go back into the A section.) Jack does his erroll garner thing here to nice effect and even goes a little crazy with it at times, slapping the lower manual around a lot. (Hey I'm not against a little over doing it to make your point.) I dig the little breakdown around 3:50 so Joe Dukes can do his thing. Check out that machine gun kick drum part he does. Joe does his updated "Soulful Drums" til the head and fade (matter of fact, there's a splice before the end fade, so lord knows how long Joe went on). Man, what a BBBAAAAAADDDDD drummer he was. What style. McDuff finishes all off with one of his best minor blues things....LOOSE FOOT. Jack did A LOT of this minor blues shuffle throughout his career on albums. But imho, this is one of the best examples. Richard Davis is out and Jack plays the bass on organ as only he could. Jack's solo is all grits, gravy and soulfulness. Nothing serious here. Just THE BLUES, McDuff style. Nobody did it better. For me, the star of the show on this cut is Jack's basswork. It's textbook. A nice head on this one too. Simple but with a nice turnaround. One last point I'd like to make. Jack did some nice little tune arrangements here. Interesting stuff. Of course he was famous for his band and arrangements so this should be no surprise. But I think he outdid himself here. I picked this album for a lot of reasons. One of them being how it showed McDuff changing with the times, in an a way that was true to his artistry. Someone had suggested they thought McDuff probably didn't dig this session. I have quite the opposite view. I think he LOVED this session. He produced it, did all the arrangements. It's a nice twist on the McDuff discography. I only wish he had done a few more like this. Although "To Seek A New Home" is a pretty close companion, and another one I'd highly recommend if you dug "Moon Rappin'." I mean it DOES have "Hunk of Funk" on it!!!!!

I would like to see something from the Argo/Cadet vaults end up on Mosaic.

Vandyke was one of the original "Funk Brothers", the band that is the subject of the movie "Standing In The Shadows Of Motown". If you like any of the Motown hit songs, this movie is a must see. The DVD is readily available to rent or purchase. "The Way I Feel" is my favorite album by Big John. I pray for this to be released domestically. If you can't wait for "The Way I Feel" to be released domestically, pick up the TOCJ. It's not terribly hard to find and sounds great. I would rank a couple of other Patton sessions above it, but it's still very good. The Way I Feel is available throught Dustygoove as a japanese paper sleeve edition right now.

Yeah since their shipping charges went up, if you're like me, everything from them is media mail. Which seems to be really slooooowww from them. Hope you get it this week Jim, I'd like to hear your unique take on it.

Maybe it will spawn a generation of people trying to dig a little deeper. Or else, in 15 years we might just have another lame generation requesting us to play Dave Mathews and Phish. I get the feeling that no matter what the generation is, there will only be a small percentage willing to listen to music in any deeper sense that jazz can offer. I mean, I don't see any swell of young people at jazz gigs and I live in a music town, Austin. But I see a lot of kids who like Cross Canadian Ragweed. I guess it's a step in the right direction, but it still is just a small step. I will say this, at least they're being conditioned to listen to music that is instrumental. That in itself is HUGE.

I'm surprised you're not on this one Dan. I mean, it DOES have organ on it.

Talk about your lame audiences. The other night I got a note on the bandstand...it read somehting to the effect of..."Hey, I know you're jazz guys. But could you play" Ina Gada Da Vida" or "Roadhouse Blues?"

Thanks Vibes, glad you dug it! The only other album that comes close to this one, but not really as good is Jack McDuff's follow up, "To Seek A New Home." Also on Blue Note. It's of the same ilk, but not as "magical" imho. But if you come across it on vinyl, pick it up. It's a very worthwhile companion to "moon rappin'" and has some great funky and spacey moments as well. I, as well, dig Jean DuShon's vocals on "Obleghetto." It really adds tot he vibe (no put intended ). I'm glad I could turn you on to this album Vibes. If you're anything like me, you'll enjoy it for a long time to come....