The last place you would expect a band specialising in authentic afro and latin soul to originate from is Canada, yet that is exactly what you get from Ottowa based Soul Jazz Orchestra. Formed in 2002 the 6 member band recreate the afro grooves of the 60s and 70s to devastating effect whilst delivering a message that is both political and spiritual.
The track from the latest podcast was taken from the band’s 2nd studio album, ‘Freedom No Go Die’ on the Do Right label and garnered extensive support from the likes of Gilles Peterson and Dom Servini. It’s one of those rare albums where every track is a winner and there’s no filler material whatsoever.
This second tune used in show 54 of my podcast is a real favourite with me at the moment. The distinctive falsetto singing is a trademark of American singer, Eddie Kendricks.
Born in Alabama Eddie Kendricks was one of the cofounders of Motown legends, The Temptations who went on to become one of the most successful male groups of the 1960s. At the time Kendricks was responsible for writing most of group’s vocal arrangements and was even responsible for the group’s wardrobe.
Kendricks left the Temptations in 1971 and went on to sing a solo deal with Motown’s Tamla imprint. Though his solo career got off to a slow start, trracks from his 1972 album ‘People…Hold On’ was a staple of many New York disco DJs of the time. The epic ‘Girl You Need a Change of Mind is taken from that album’.
Also worth tracking down is the classic track ‘Happy‘ which gained notoriety when it was sampled by Max Sedgley for his track of the same name released on Irma Records. The tune was later re-released on Rob da Bank’s Sunday Best label where it would appear the sample had been re-created by a live singer.
I thought it’d be rather nice if I started to give you a bit of background to some of the artists tunes I play in the podcasts - so here we go kicking off with the tune that introduces show 54.
Terry Callier is a Chicago born soul singer-songwriter and folk guitarist. Born in 1945, he learned piano throughout his childhood before eventually going on to join doo-wop groups in his teens. Eventually he would go on to audition for the now legendary Chess Records in 1962 where he then recorded his first single. Callier went on to perform in clubs abd coffee houses in Chicago, taking with him his influence of the music of the great jazz saxophonist John Coltrane.
His first album, ‘The Folk Sound’ of Terry Callier was eventually released in 1968 after which he continued to write material for the Chess label. This followed with three further albums: ‘Occasional Rain’, ‘What colour is Love’ and ‘I Just Can’t Help Myself’.
Show 54 of the podcast features ‘You Goin Miss Your Candyman’ taken from the album ‘What Color is Love’ which was originally released in 1972. The song is a slight departure from the other tunes on the album, taking a more soulful approach to his usual folk sound. The unnassuming guitar introduction makes the appearance of the huge bass that much more surprising and the song goes on through energetic peaks and troughs of energetic dancefloor friendly fare.
Terry Callier carried on performing until 1983 when he took the decision to retire from music and take classes in - of all things - computer programming and he eventually went on to pursue a degree in sociology. It was only in the late 1980s that he re-emerged after British DJs rediscovered his old recordings and began playing them in clubs. In 1991 Callier starting touring again and does to this day where he has since recorded five further albums.
There is good news for Manchester residents as he will be playing at band on the wall in October!
Show 54 kicks off with some sublime soul from Terry Callier and Eddie Kendricks and then goes on to pick up the pace through a selection of choice disco numbers. We round off the hour with some dancefloor disturbing afro numbers, culminating in the modern classic by RSL - the awesome ‘Wesley Music’. Download it and Enjoy!
Terry Callier - You Goin’ Miss Your Candyman
Eddie Kendricks - Girl You Need a Change of Mind
Salsoul Orchestra - Take Some Time Out For Love
Melvin Sparks - Get Ya Some
The Fantastic Aleems - Hooked on Your Love
Clyde Alexander - Got to Have Your Love
Louise Freeman - I Can do it
In Search of Orchestra - Phenomena Theme (Inst)
The soul Jazz Orchestra - The Blind Leading the Blind
I for one am pretty bored of hearing Michael Jackson tunes…you couldn’t seem to escape them after he popped his clogs last year. It’s a shame as some of them were fantastic but lots of them were complete crap (’The Girl is Mine’, anyone?). I love a good cover version and I love brass bands so what better way to breathe some new life into some well worn tunes by combining the two. Read the rest of this entry »
Gracious, it’s been a while since I’ve added a new podcast to this page. Promise I’ll be more regular from now on! Anyway, this time round it’s a bit of a technical treat as I’ve managed to cram 12 tunes into just over half an hour! We kick off with a selection of blues, starting with the mighty BB King and building up through an assortment of jazz, soul, disco, funk, dubstep and dub.
As the sun has finally decided to grace us with it’s presence I thought I’d post up this beautiful cover of ‘Here Comes the Sun’ off the album of the same name by Nina Simone. In my ignorance I wasn’t aware of this album before, but I may have to track it down if this is anything to go by. Enjoy!
It’s the last show before christmas so why not kick off with a funk cover of this year’s christmas number 1. Australian outfit, The Apples take on Rage Against the Machine in a satisfyingly brassy manner. We then start to up the tempo with a bit more funk and latin before concluding with one of my favourite tunes from the past couple of years - Zed Bias’ remix of the already masssive ‘Sahara’ by Soil & Pimp Sessions. Ho ho ho, and stuff…get downloading!
The Apples - Killing
Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings - Why Don’t we all Stop Paying Taxes?
Akwaaba - Aiff
All the People - Cramp Your Style
The Hi-Fly Orchestra - Roda de Samba
Negrocan - Brasil Nago
Up, Bustle & Out - Los Locos Cubanos (Snowboy remix)
As a tribute to Rage Against the Machine releasing Simon Cowell’s stranglehold on the christmas number one (and helping to make a big fat pile of cash for charity in the process) here’s a take on “Killing in the Name of” you may not know of. “So why haven’t you played it in the podcast?” I hear you ask. Well it just so happens I’ve given it a spin in the mildly festive Show 50!
Show 49 of the podcast is 30 minutes packed with almost-christmas crackers. We kick off with another killer from the Hot Coins ‘Valient Truth EP’ which featured in show 48. We then continue into some huge bass wobbling UK rap from Profisee & Eprom and follow on into a range of old favourites and rounding off with everyone’s favourite Bill Withers tune!
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