Rabshakeh

Pete Conde – Este Negro Si Es Sabroso A family of five sick people is quite a logistical problem. Currently stolen off to bed whilst the elder kids watch Bed Knobs and Broomsticks and streaming this.

This looks good. I'll track it down.

He handed down these four bullet points?

Nice one. Well done. Currently listening to Ravish Momin's Trio Tarana – Climbing The Banyan Tree

The Latin brothers – Bailame Como Quieras I think that if someone is asking for information here then they are probably looking for something more than a half arsed Google search...

The Hunter S? Standard Sunday evening last-night-before-school pint of Guinness place, for me. In summer, reliably assured a spot by the bins in the sunshine chatting to the mad elder locals who still go there no matter what happens. Lots of happy memories there. Colon might have had the best run of cover art of any artist.

Another one I've just been listening to. I think Celia wins out. She always does. It is not a fair fight. Interested to know where you went?

Flashback?

Celia Cruz Y La Sonora Ponceña – La Ceiba Listening to Hommy last night got me in the mood for some more Celia Cruz, so this was the soundtrack to a rainsoaked trip down the Essex Road to buy a Christmas tree.

Frankie Dante & Orquesta Flamboyan con Larry Harlow Love this one.

Willie Colon and Ruben Blades - Canciones Del Solar De Los Aburridos I'm not a Spanish speaker and a lot of the appeal of Ruben Blades is therefore possibly lost on me. I find I have the same reaction to Blades records as I do to later Bob Marley in Reggae: whatever it is that was responsible for their crossover successes in their respective genres is probably also what I am least interested in those genres. But at least this record has some very catchy tunes that I can enjoy, and a good focus on chunky horns. It's just a funky fun record, with a conscious, but one that doesn't over-load it.

Really enjoying these. Many deep cuts that I don't know at all.

Orchestra Harlow – Hommy (A Latin Opera) I'm not sure how long this obsession with salsa is going to last (presumably into the flat wall of Monday morning), but I'm enjoying where it is taking me.

Now onto this favourite from the same era, and still my most loved Sun Ra: It's been interesting watching the plummetting interest in this era of Sun Ra go in the last twenty years coincide with the rediscovery of late 70s Sun Ra and the retrospective arrival of Languidity as his major statement.

Milford Graves - BABI People can talk Reid Miles all they like, but the felt-tip with visible smudge and obviously-traced devanagari script era was the real high point of graphic design in jazz. This record is not Nommo. BABI is obviously a major statement, but it is one that is quite funny in its own extremity, whereas Nommo to my ears is the purest distilled magic that the free-er end of our genre offers. Both great records though.

Milford Graves and Don Pullen - Nommo This is a record that was huge for me in the early days of really really getting into jazz. I remember 20 years ago staring at an inserted image on a blog, trying to make out the album cover on this thing, whilst wondering who these unknown musicians Milford Graves and Don Pullen were. So strange to have it in LP format in 2023. Ironically, it was increasing familiarisation with both musicians that probably led to this record slipping from my mind to the extent it has. Pullen in particular I associate with his great 80s records, and no longer associate him with this album. Having bought it today, it is the first time I have listened to this record in around 6 years. It is bringing back huge waves of nostalgia. What a magical album.

The McGregor also led to happy recollections from my Dad of seeing him and various South African musicians okay in the 50s and early 60s. He'd never mentioned seeing McGregor before but immediately identified him by name.

It got a "Which record is this?" from my wife, which is always my seal of quality for a record. The opening Just Friends is my favourite standard interpretation ever.

I felt a bit dizzy seeing them in the shop. Not records I ever expected to see reissued. Now if someone would only get working on the 180 gram record store day "drop" of Karyobin...

America over the Waters by Shirley Collins. Seems to have been reissued.

Just bought Babi and Nommo in the recent reissued, as well as a secondhand Chris McGregor's Brotherhood Of Breath.

Markolino Dimond Con Frankie Dante – Beethoven's V

Otis Clay – Trying To Live My Life Without You I love this record. Great cover art too.