After The Smoke: Come and Leave
This is weird, creative and right up my alley. Check it out
Enjoy
D Ross
NYC
DONALD BYRD REST IN POWER
We lost one of the all time great Jazz/Funk men ever this week. I discovered his music via digging for records to sample and realized my older sis use to play a few of his jams when I was a shorty (She was a funk head). I dug his songs way beyond the loops I could scoop up from them he just made great sophisticated jazzy music. Here’s a few favorite Donald Byrd selections of mine.
This song is so powerful in all of it’s gospel meets jazz trappings it is unique,beautiful and an example in musical subtlety. I love how he lays out till the end of the tune and his tone is just gorgeous
Christo Redentor
He had many phases as a musician there was his classic cool Jazz period like the before mentioned Christo Redentor and his later funk jazz recordings with his own band and his pupils the BlackByrds. His music was sampled to death in the early 90’s but beyond the samples he made some amazingly groovy music. Here’s a few of my fav’s.
Think Twice:
Sampled by Tribe and Main Source amongst others. Covered by Erykah Badu as well, but just a tremendous slice of Jazz Funk. An essential Donald Byrd cut. So many parts change ups and breakdowns. A lot of the later funk Jazz Donald Byrd stuff was great because it was about the tunes not only about Byrd’s riffing. He gave his bands room to stretch out and be expressive.
Places and Spaces:
Sampled by Pete Rock and several others this was a favorite of mine from way back. I always put this on my funk tapes I use to make for people in the late 80’s. This one reminds me of my man Jules Gayton and his OG English Posse. Another one where he lets his band get busy while playing some very pretty stuff through out the tune.
Dominos: This was used by Daddyo and Stetsasonic for the All The Jazz remix. I loved this tune when i was a shorty my sister use to rock this one. Just a groovy jam. His tone on this one, and the vocals are just stunning. Another example of Byrds selflessness as a musician.
Do It Fluid:
And of course I need to include a tune by his funky students The Blackbyrds. This jam has always been a favorite of mine. Produced by Donald Byrd and Larry Mizell (Him and his brother Fonce studied under Donald Byrd at Howard University and later produced several of his records for Blue Note). This is a bad ass song:
I could post Donald Byrd tunes here all day I figure these last two one by the BlackByrds and my all time favorite Windjammers Parade used by both Pac and Black Moon will suffice for now.
Rock Creek Park The Blackbyrds:
Wind Parade:Possibly Donald Byrds most known ample but forget all that it’s just an amazing amazing tune. So many great sections and just so dam groovy.
Donald Byrd lived a long life, he was 80 years old and had several careers in one lifetime. He was through out it all a great trumpeter and who created elegant and beaufitful music for more than 50 years.
Rest In Power and thank your for the music, your spirit and legacy will remain forever.
Enjoy
Dante Ross
LION BABE: TREAT ME LIKE FIRE
How cool is this? It’s been floating around for a while…..Digging it mucho
Enjoy
DR
STOP AND FRISK POLICY GETS A BLACK EYE
Meet The 17-Year-Old Who Blew The Lid Off Racial Profiling With His iPod. This video is disturbing, thought provoking and extremely powerful. It brings up a lot of questions about the validity of the policy. Beyond that how can the NYPD condone and allow an officer to speak to a young innocent kid like that?
HOWLIN WOLF: BACK DOOR MAN
This is so dark it’s wonderful…… Too bad The Doors covered this one……Howlin Wolf the real deal, I love Muddy Waters but The Wolf is my guy.
Enjoy
DRoss
NYC
REMEMBERING ED KOCH
Mayor Ed Koch and Graffiti on the Subway System Part 1 from La Guardia and Wagner Archives on Vimeo.
Ed Koch was a NY institution for better or worse. He was a long time Greenwhich Village resident, a hurricane of a mayor part arrogance part humanist. He rose from being a local councilman to the Mayor of the Rotten Apple. His stance on Aids, crime in particular quality of life crimes and his relationship with the Black community of NY were always awkward. Not sure if I agreed with him most of the time but I did respect his accessibility, his sense of humor and his NYness of that makes sense. He kept his sexuality a shroud of secrecy ( Was he gay?), he was abrasive and coveted the limelight in a unusual way with a on going love hate relationship with the press. I once debated him on education on 8th street while all of 13 years old, asking him why I was marked absent from school during the transit strike when I had no way to get to school.
The mere fact that he debated a 13 year old in front of a small crowd of on lookers while he was the Mayor of New York was endearing. His policies were not always. Ultimately his relationship with Donald Manes and his clashes with people of color were his downfall and his angle on the Micheal Stewart and Yusef Hawkisn debacles were just deplorable. He was finally ousted in 1989 by David Dinkins the most un-effective Mayor in the history of New York City. So much for change right?
Edward Koch was a force to be reckoned with, a political icon to say the least and whether you agreed with him or not you had to respect the man, he put in work. He is partially to blame for the cultural ruin of New York City ridding the transit system of Graffiti, allowing cops to commit countless acts of violence upon the city’s tax paying citizens ( Remember Jose Biaz?) opening the doors for gentrification and the eventual strip malling of New York.
For all of this good and bad I still say I enjoyed the man’s presence in this great city.
We lost a real NYer today!
Koch speaking on Graffiti in Style Wars:
Dante Ross
FAT FREDDYS DROP
Fat Freddys Drop isn’t necessarily a secret they have been making noise in they’re native New Zealand for a while now. My lady turned me on to them a few ago, and I have kept them in rotation for over a year now. Unlike most jammy things I love this band, the singer Joe Dukie has a wonderful soulful unique voice that defies race or musical genre. The dub elements in the music are trippy and beautiful bridging the gap between reggae and soul music. They’re 2009 album Based On A True Story is a wonderful musical journey albeit it with a tremendous horn section and some great programming blurring the line between live drums and programing often.
The follow up record Dr Boondigga and the Big BW is also a epic musical journey furthering the bands creative and soulful journey again blurring the lines between musical genres. I have never seen them live though I hear they are unreal and even more psychedelic live. The band consists of several Maori’s lead singer Dukie amongst them and a few pacific islanders as well which I think is pretty dam cool. The sound is trippy and beautiful at times reminding me of early UB40 (particularly the vocals) yet entirely original. Check them out you will not be disappointed.
This song is a particular favorite of mine:
Hopefully one day they make it over here and I get to see it live or I make it over there to see them live. This is stoney, trippy soulful music at it’s best.
Enjoy
Dante Ross
BUFFALO KILLERS:CIRCLE DAY
Psychedelic stoner rock from Dan Auerbach’s friends. These guys are great I feel stoned just listening to them….
Enjoy
DR
STEVIE RAY VAUGHN AND ALBERT KING:PRIDE AND JOY LIVE
2 players from different generations playing as one. This is beautiful, the relationship between the 2 transcends age,race and music. Stevie Ray was the last great player in my eyes. Gary Clark JR got a shot but he gotta make better records to me. Albert King and Buddy Guy played the blues the way I like it they charged as opposed to B.B. King whose great but laid back and played longer simpler lines. Albert King and Buddy Guy played it dirty and grittier just how I like it much like Stevie Ray. I saw SVR live a few times in my youth those to this day are some of the greatest shows I ever saw. Truly transcendental performances and a soulful virtuosity I have never seen surpassed to this day.
Suffice to say I love me some Stevie Ray Vaughn ya know?
WORST UNICORN TAT’S EVER
This is so F’d up…..
This is so bad it’s great!
Ouch……so bad it hurts
For more check this out:
http://acidcow.com/pics/9867-worst-unicorn-tattoos-57-pics.html
Enjoy
DRoss
