JAZZ AT ITS ABSOLUTE FINEST

PE Hewitt Jazz Ensemble: Cat House Blues
From Winter Winds – The Complete Works: 1968-1970 (Now Again, 2010)

Phil Hewitt, aka PE Hewitt, is not a well-known music figure these days even though he has performed at The White House in his lifetime, an honor not bestowed upon just anyone. Despite that, he's never acquired a great renown. Perhaps it was because he only had a paucity of his albums pressed between 1968 and 1970. We're talking a maximum of 100 copies, and that was only for the last album of three (“Winter Winds”). The first two albums were in a press of only 50. Suffice it to say, if you have an original of any of these, you have quite a collectible.

For the rest of us, though, all three have just been reissued on wax and disc. The packaging shows what a labor of love this was for Now Again, with its replica of the original artwork as the mini-LP sleeves show for the CD version.

It would all be for naught, however, if the music wasn't up to par. What is mindboggling is that this music was composed by a teenager – A TEENAGER! - back in 1968 through 1970. The first two albums, “Jawbones” and “Since Washington,” have a rootsy feel as found on the bass line and swinging rhythm on “Cat House Blues” (from “Jawbones,” the first album in the series). The liner notes label the first two albums as more inaccessible compared to the third, although I feel they're more true to what people typically think of when they think of the sounds of jazz. “Since Washington” follows in many of the same footsteps as “Jawbones” with a grooviness you might pine for from quintet at a jazz festival.

With “Winter Winds,” the album not the collection, Hewitt moved in a more Gary McFarland approach with the scat vocals that were written and then performed to perfection by vocalists Nina Scheller and Sonia Valldeparas. The sound is a bit more pop-jazz, if you can call it that, mostly which can be attributed to the vocal stylings. The material sprawls across emotional boundaries from the heartbreaking “Ill Love Song” to the bouncy Latin jazz of “Bada Que Bash.”

“Winter Winds,” again the single album, was released last year by Now Again but only as an expensive Japanese import. It was enough to whet my appetite, and after the first listen had me wanting more of Hewitt's music. Now, a year later, you can get the entire 3-disc set for nearly the same cost.

Amazingly, Hewitt turned away from music not long after this fruitful period, a shame given his talent level, to pursue careers that would be more apt to put food on the table such as aviation and photography. While he's quite pleased that the albums are getting to be heard again (or for the first time for many), we, the music consuming public, are the true benefactors of this work.

Variations On A ‘Funky’ Theme…

As promised, here is the guest post from Larry from The Funky 16 Corners audioblog as he takes us deep into the world of exciting library music. Be sure to check out his site regularly. For my end of the swap, I reviewed The Equatics' reissue entitled "Doin It!!!"




Greetings all.

I was honored when Eric asked me to fall by Record Racks with a ‘guest’ post.

The tracks I bring you today are not only one of the grooviest examples of the ‘library’ music genre, but also represent a peak moment of what might be described as a’micro-genre’, that being reworkings of Keith Mansfield’s ‘Funky Fanfare’.

Keith Mansfield: Funky Fanfare
From KPM 1043 Beat Incidental (KPM, 1969)

Keith Mansfield: Funky Chase
From KPM 1043 Beat Incidental (KPM, 1969)

Keith Mansfield: Funky Flight
From KPM 1043 Beat Incidental (KPM, 1969)

Mansfield as both composer and pianist - often in collaboration with Hammond master Alan Hawkshaw (the man behind the Mohawks) – recorded some truly fantastic music in the late 60s and early 70s (and beyond that), some of it for UK sound libraries like KPM, and some under his own name for a variety of labels (some of which actually saw release in the US).

These ‘libraries’ created musical themes for a variety of uses with the music appearing in the background of motion picture and television soundtracks, behind commercials and public service announcements, and sometimes as just plain old ‘music for listening’.

The selections you’re hearing today are three variations of the ‘Funky Fanfare’ theme from KPM 1043 ‘Beat Incidental’ (from 1969). Though many beat diggers (and listeners in general) may be familiar with certain library themes, until you actually get your hands on one of the albums released by services like KPM or Bruton you don’t realize how brief many of these tunes are.

‘Beat Incidental’ includes more than 20 tracks, very few of them running in excess of two minutes, several – intended as transitional or interstitial themes, running less than ten seconds. The three tracks included here, ‘Funky Fanfare’, ‘Funky Chase’ and

‘Funky Flight’ all run between a minute and a minute and a half, and are all variations on the same instrumental theme.
‘Funky Flight’ is mainly percussion and guitar, ‘Funky Chase’ repeats that, adding vibes, and ‘Funky Fanfare’ the main theme - and no doubt the most familiar - leads with the Hammond (probably Mansfield himself, since Hawkshaw is not credited).

I’ve always found it interesting – at least since I discovered library music – how many of these pieces (including those by Mansfield, Hawkshaw, Syd Dale, John Dankworth and Johnny Pearson*) transcend their utilitarian roots and jump into another dimension entirely. Perhaps it has something to do with their original creation having to do with evocation of a particular mood, or more likely that having done so, they were appropriated by other sources where they entered the public imagination in an unforeseen way. Pearson’s ‘Heavy Action’ (from KPM1136 Industrial Panorama, go check it out on iTunes) entered a huge number of American homes in the 1970s as the theme to Monday Night Football.

If ‘Funky Fanfare’ is indeed familiar, it’s because the theme was reworked more than half a dozen times over the period of a few years, in a fairly wide variety of settings. If you take a close look at the label, there’s a reference to another version (under the ‘Funky Fanfare’ title) on KPM1038. This version was recorded with a much bigger band, includes slightly funkier drums and was used in (but not included on the soundtrack for) Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Kill Bill’, where it was used as I remember it from my childhood, as the background to a coming attractions interstitial from the movies.

Mansfield himself recorded the theme – retitled as ‘Soul Thing’ – on his 1969 ‘All You Need Is Keith Mansfield’ LP (released in a few different countries) with his piano in the lead, opening with a very tasty, very crisp drum break. The tune was recorded again as ‘Soul Thing’, in an arrangement approximating the KPM1038 version of ‘Funky Fanfare’ in 1970 under the name of drummer Tony Newman, with a Hammond lead that sounds a lot like Alan Hawkshaw.

Oddly enough there’s yet another instrumental version of the tune, a progressive/psyche interpretation by a Steve Hillage project called Arzachel. They take the tune at a very slow pace, renaming it ‘Queen Street Gang’.

There was also a vocal version of the song entitled ‘House of Jack’ with lyrics by R. Chris Murphy added to Mansfield’s music. As far as I can tell the original vocal version was recorded in the UK by James Royal, then again by Paul Raven* (later known as Gary Glitter) and yet again in the US (in 1971) by a largely anonymous group called The Establishment, released on the King label (probably the easiest of the three to find).

There’s also at least one other version (which may be the same as the KPM1038 recording) under the name of the Carnaby Street Pop Orchestra, which I understand to be basically repackaged (possibly remixed) Mansfield/ KPM content.

No matter how you cut it, Mansfield’s little creation has had a remarkably fruitful life, which is probably why it’s become an ear-worm of sorts, having come to represent a palpable slice of late period Swinging London (or anywhere else for that matter).

It’s interesting to hear Mansfield play with the basic theme in the three KPM1048 tracks. There are two more ‘Funky’ tracks on that album (‘Funky Link 1’ and Funky Link 2’), but neither one of them lasts more than seven seconds.

I hope you dig the sounds.

Peace

Larry

*I’ve never heard the Paul Raven version, but I have seen the label and the lyrics are credited to ‘Raven’, so it may in fact be yet another iteration of the tune

PS Make sure to check out the ‘World of Kane’ blog where Youtube clips of a number of the versions mentioned above are posted (and a few more in the comments) here.

SONG OF THE DAY: MARCH 28, 2010

SONG OF THE DAY: MARCH 28, 2010



Miguel Atwood-Ferguson feat. Dwele: A.N.G.E.L.
From VA: Timeless Box Set (Mochilla, 2010)

Lovely track led by Miguel Atwood-Ferguson and produced by Carlos Nino that was part of a tribute to the late Dilla but was not included on the Suite For Ma Dukes EP. Atwood-Ferguson is joined by one of Dilla's friends and collaborators (and fellow Detroit native) Dwele. The arrangement is much more orchestrated and has expanded lyrical content, which is mostly just Dwele freestyling.

The original had a jazzy, organic feel with its heavy dose of Fender Rhodes and those crisp drums. Lyrically, it's about as simple as it gets, but it's really much more reliant on mood than it is on message.

Dwele: A.N.G.E.L.
From Subject (Virgin, 2003)

Meanwhile, Soul-Sides.com is having a contest where you can win the DVD box set where this track comes from.

IN THE HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN

Now and again, you come across an album so good that you just can't get it off repeat. From the opening to closing notes, I was spellbound in between. The opening track, “Awakening,” is peaceful and reminds me of the first time I heard Lonnie Liston Smith's Garden Of Peace. My mind and heart had been kidnapped - thrown into a trunk and I was going wherever this band steered me for the next hour or so.

“Awakening” is what you hear and feel in those groggy moments before your eyes pop open. It captures the sounds of wherever we go in Dreamland and is the reveille that beckons us back to reality. That last held note is like the morning stretch that says, “You're up and you're ready to go!” which leads you to...

The Souljazz Orchestra: Agbara
From Rising Sun (Strut, 2010)

this shot of musical caffeine. Skip the morning coffee and throw this into your music player of choice. If you aren't able to get through the drudgery of the morning with this playing in the background, then don't even bother with the rest or your day. Musically, it hearkens to the Latin classic
“Tiger of San Pedro” as performed by Bill Watrous. It bounces with verve with its marimba-laden background, and those horns... MY GOD!

The rest of the album follows along the same lineage, closing out with a two-part cover of Pharoah Sanders' “Rejoice” suite with first part being more meditative and the second part being more rhytmic and lively.

You can check more out clips over at the official release page. With roots in Ethio-jazz, Afrobeat, Latin, and soul, the band shows they are capable of astounding range, which is no small task. More importantly, though, they accomplish it with a fortitude and semblance of musicality that allows them to be original while still honoring those who inspired them.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the first must-have release of 2010, and it comes your way February 16th.

HE'S STILL A BAD MUTHA (JUST NOW IN REMASTERED CLARITY)

Isaac Hayes: Early Sunday Morning
From Shaft (Stax, 1971/2009)

Almost 30 years after it was originally released, the legendary Shaft soundtrack has been reissued in remastered form. It was a landmark album due to it being the first soul soundtrack to a major movie release while garnering major awards and accolades. More importantly, it was a remarkable musical accomplishment, in its breadth of styles.

Sure, nearly everyone knows the iconic title song. However, the rest of the album, most of which is instrumental, has mostly been forgotten, not because it's not memorable – but because the market for popular instrumental music has dried up throughout the years. It's a lost artform in this age of marketable catchy hooks and ringtone fodder.

One of the more laidback mood pieces on the album is “Early Sunday Morning.” With its breezy jazz-soul stylings, you're taken away from your troubles. Its underpinning strings lift it to celestial heights while the cool horns are the sunrise's aural backdrop.

On the flipside you have the more popped-collar funkiness in “Do Your Thing,” which was most likely inspired by fellow composer Tom McIntosh who consulted with Hayes on the movie when he told Isaac to “do your thing” and not worry about making varied stylings incorporate into the album. It has a fuzzed-out guitar that borders on psychedelic soul.

In addition to the original tracklisting, you also get a bonus 2009 mix of the title song. For the life of me, though, I can't quite hear much of a difference aside from the countoff in the intro. While this alone may not make it a must purchase for those who already own the soundtrack, the reissue reminds us of the mastermind that Hayes was in his compositional prowess.

Right on!

THE BEAUTY OF MUSIC FROM DIFFERENT CULTURES

Mulatu Astatke: Ebo Lala
From New York, Addis, London: The Story Of Ethio Jazz 1965 To 1975 (Strut, 2009)

From Afro-Latin to jazzier rhythms, Mulatu Astatke has been there, done that. A celebrated figure to his native Ethiopia and to record diggers the world over, he has been a crucial figure to world music and jazz alike.

The importance of this collection cannot be overstated. Much of this music hasn't been heard by the masses simply because it never had great distribution. Fortunately Strut has compiled this set for the rest of us to catch up.

My first introduction to Ethiopian music came only within the last 5 years. I was in a wedding for a friend from college who was marrying a girl whose family was originally from Ethiopia. He had told me that her family was having the DJ play some of their native music throughout different parts of the reception. I was intrigued because I had never heard any of this music and my curiosity was piqued. Now, of course, the DJ in me thought, “This could flat out kill the dancefloor.” Having DJ'd a few receptions in my lifetime, I've seen when the family wanted something out of the norm and the dancefloor either never quite recovered or never even started. This night proved to be much different; so color me all shades of wrong.

The global grooves actually ended up not only complementing, but enhancing the night's festivities. There were ceremonial danceoffs between various family members and close friends, not in a battle sense but in an expressive, joyful one. Before you knew it, everyone else was joining in, too. What I noticed even more was how it all fit together. The music transcended. There was a pride to not only the musicians playing the music but in the family listening to it. There was a cultural significance to it all – something that 9 times out of 10 we miss out on here in America in our Bentleys and boomboxes society. We're listening loud but hearing nothing.