Stanton Davis and the Ghetto Mysticism Band

[deanosounds]

I just wanted to let people know about this cool pre-sale contest. The first 100 people to pre-order this CD will be entered into a contest to win an autographed copy of the original LP! Pre-order at http://www.culturesofsoul.bigcartel.com.

Stanton Davis originally created this seminal jazz funk masterpiece back in 1977. It’s being reissued for the first time on CD after many years of being left in obscurity. Every track from start to finish is top notch, featuring beautiful instrumentation and complex arrangements.

Stanton Davis was mentored by the great jazz legend George Russell and later formed the Ghetto Mysticism Band in Boston, MA. He and the group performed exciting live shows in the city all throughout the ‘70s.

Brighter Days showcases an array of uptempo jazz funk stylings, from the fast-paced fury of “Things Cannot Stop Forever” to the deep space sound of “Space A Nova I” (already featured on Gilles Peterson’s Revolutionary Jazz compilation) to the atmospheric instrumentation of “Play Sleep” to the beautiful vocals of “Brighter Days” and the loose funk groove of “Funky Fried Tofu.”

Audio clips at http://www.culturesofsoulrecords.com

[clifford_thornton]

Thanks - looking forward to hearing this.

[Rooster_Ties]

Me too. Googled around for the line-up, and found it here. There are a few full-length songs uploaded to Youtube too, just search on "Stanton Davis" and/or "Ghetto Mysticism". Already added it to my want-list at Dusty Groove; they think it'll be available later this month.

[clifford_thornton]

A few of those names are familiar to me - Leonard Brown, Lester Lumley, Jerome Harris.

[JSngry]

Also

Bill(y) Pierce

Alan Pasqua

Delmar Brown

Keith Copeland

[deanosounds]

Thanks everyone! I'm glad people are interested in this on the this forum. You can pre-order it right from our website at www.culturesofsoul.bigcartel.com. I will be sure to ship these out so that they arrive on March 15th. PLus if you order before March 15th you will be entered into a drawing to win an autographed copy of the original LP. It's quite rare.

[clifford_thornton]

Funny, whenever originals come up for sale they're either sealed or trashed. Again, looking forward to this - and Sangrey is clearly more familiar with its cast than I am.

[JSngry]

Billy Pierce was in Tony Williams' Blue Note quintet & has done a fair amount of "modern mainstream" dates over the years.

Alan Pasqua was in the 70s edition of Lifetime. Tony must have maintained some Boston connections through the years...

Delmar Brown was in the Jaco Word of Mouth, latter-day Gil Evans orb,

Keith Copeland is Ray Copeland's son and has also done a fair amount of "modern mainstream" dates as well.

[deanosounds]

It's coming out tomorrow! You can purchase directly from the artist/label at Cultures of Soul

Or at Juno and Dusty Groove. It will be coming to your local retailer later in the month!

[Rooster_Ties]

Just got a copy of this (finally). I'm not quite yet all the way through it (just on track 5 of 9 as I'm typing this) -- but, good golly, there's some mighty fine playing here.

Reminds me more than a bit of Harry Whitaker's "Black Renaissance", and some other similar mid-70's efforts. The Dusty description mentions some similarities to various Mizell productions, and though I get what they're saying, I think the playing here is a LOT deeper (normally Mizell stuff gives me the willies, but this doesn't). Also reminds me of more than a few 70's (post-"Capricorn") Eddie Henderson dates, though the vibe is a little different.

Maybe the most 'fun' date I've heard in a good long while.

Edited May 16, 2012 by Rooster_Ties

[Rooster_Ties]

Have spun this a good 6 or 8 times since I got it, and it continues to impress.

Fair warning, much of this date sounds like a "half-crazy, party record" if you don't pay too close of attention to it. In many ways, it's everyting that Tyrone Washington's "Do Right" date attempted to be. The thing is, that there's WAY more going on in the rhythm section on THIS date (than on Tyrone's last leader date). Very active, almost 'nervous' bass-playing - and some really nice, comping on keys from Delmar Brown.

So put this on as background music, and you'll never notice much of anything about why this date works so well (at least for whom this date works so well).

Edited June 6, 2012 by Rooster_Ties

[Rooster_Ties]

Spun this again this morning, for the first time in quite a while - and it hit me like a Tom of lead. Damn, what a crazy but great album!!

Anyone else here dig this?