Zero to 180 – Three Minute Magic
Eternal debt of gratitude to Larry Appelbaum of WPFW’s Sounds of Surprise program for pointing listeners (including myself) to a fascinating moment in our nation’s history about which not enough seems to have been written. “Moon Maiden“ Duke Ellington Quartet @ ABC in NYC July 21, 1969 A rather surreal
One can be forgiven for mistaking the heartbeat bass line and the off-kilter, syncopated hand drumming in this 2-minute heavy chant as being part of the Jamaican Nyabinghi tradition. Note the special effect at song’s end — somewhat “high tech” for King in 1954: “Oooh-Diga-Gow” by Cecil Young Quartet (1954)
The Soulful Strings evoke the magic of falling snow — thanks to Dorothy Ashby‘s harp — on their classic instrumental track, “Snowfall“: “Snowfall” by The Soulful Strings (1968) Discogs helps us appreciate how The Soulful Strings were able to create an identifiable sound despite only playing other people’s material: “The
Fascinating that a musician of the caliber of Hank Garland (who was signed to Columbia, for cryin’ out loud) would release a companion album of sorts – Subtle Swing – to the groundbreaking (and previously discussed) Jazz Winds From a New Direction, and yet so little information to confirm its existence,
Zero to 180 kicks off its musical salute to grits with “Tacos And Grits,” an obvious winner of an instrumental by jazz trombonist, Al Grey: “Tacos and Grits” Al Grey (1963) This first featured song in Zero to 180’s music & grits series — launched on the heels of Saturday’s
Bill Doggett and his Hammond organ, in 1957, would breathe (via flute) fresh life into Tiny Bradshaw‘s “Soft” from 1952 – both versions released on King. Even though Doggett’s “Soft” would ‘only’ peak at #51, Billboard’s “Hot 100 Chart History” indicates this song to have spent 14 weeks on the
Last November’s tribute to the funkiest musical instrument known to humankind would seem to designate NRBQ‘s “Stomp” (recorded December, 1968) as among the earliest of recordings to feature the clavinet, even though by article’s end I reveal my ace card — “Attractive Girl” by The Termites, an album track on
The alluring flute and vibraphone are just a ploy — liberation’s crafty end game of using music to help listeners recognize the shared humanity that binds us all: “Liberation“ The Afro-Blues Quintet Plus One (1965) “Liberation” is the debut single from The Afro-Blues Quintet Plus One, who released five albums
Just as Rufus Harley expanded the musical possibilities of the bagpipes, Dorothy Ashby likewise liberated the harp from its orchestral internment. Dorothy Ashby was, as it says on her 1957 debut album, a “jazz harpist” — though not strictly. 1968’s “Soul Vibrations” as you can hear, also incorporates funk and
Rufus Harley‘s sole 45, “Bagpipe Blues” on Atlantic Records — an original amalgamation of Scottish highland and African-American musical traditions from 1965 — was undoubtedly the first of its kind. 45Cat‘s carey jeggs notes that Harley is “[p]robably the first jazz musician to play the bagpipes, although Albert Ayler also
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